The Thief
by The Inspector
Summary: In Ancient Greece it takes a very talented thief to steal from the gods, and Ba Kura might be just that. Kaiba intends to keep the treasure, but Kura has a few tricks up his sleeve and Kaiba's apprentice on his side. Very slight BakuraRyou Complete .
1. The Agreement

The Thief

By The Inspector

Disclaimer:  I do not own the Yugioh characters.  And I do not own the original idea of 'The Thief.'  This story is largely based on the book of the same name by Megan Whalen Turner.  Much of the plot and some of the lines are taken directly from the original story.  I loved the book so much that I wanted to write it with my own twists and with the Yugioh characters.  Ms. Turner, I mean no disrespect by doing this story.  I am making no profit in any way.  If this story or I offend you in any way, please let me know and I will remove this story.  Honestly, I mean no offense.  I love 'The Thief.'  It's my favorite book and have read it so many times that the book is starting to fall apart.  I am NOT plagiarizing.

~The Inspector

Note: The story takes place in an imaginary area that exists near Greece.  The three countries in this area are Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia.

And I will be using the names of the Egyptian gods, even though they are not in Egypt.

Kura is of course, our Yami no Bakura.

~~~~~

Kura didn't know exactly how long he'd been in the King's Prison.  Time seemed to pass differently here.  Everything was the monotonously the same, expect that he seemed dirtier with each passing day.  Day light only reached the barred window of his second story cell in a weak yellow imitation and at night the darkness was complete.  With every passing day, Kura promised himself that he was one day closer to getting out.  

He was a lot thinner now, but the metal circle around his waist still wasn't loose enough to fit over his bony hips.  The other chains around his wrists and ankles could be pulled off at will, had been from day one in the prison, but sometimes they had to forced on quickly and all the rubbing of metal against skin created sores and before long it just hurt less to leave them on.  

Kura spent a lot of his time going over his memories, examining them and holding onto the pleasant ones.  He reviewed over and over the plans that had seemed so foolproof before he was thrown in jail and swore to himself and every god he knew that if he made it out of the jail alive he'd never never never take such abysmally stupid risks again.  

It had been early spring when he'd been arrested outside the Old Oak Wineshop.  Kura wasn't sure, but he figured it had to be early to middle summer by now.

Of course, in the cold, damp prison, the seasons' change didn't effect anything.  The only things in Kura's cell with were a wooden board and moth eaten blanket that served as his bed, the chains he wore, a chamber pot, and twice a day, food.  Oh, and of course the regular prison companions.  He had named the big black rat Mr. Paws.

Sometimes, when he got really bored, Kura would move around the cell as much as he chains would allow, trying not to make a sound, and look out into the courtyard when some of the prisoners got to go during the day.  

In the time before the invaders came, the prison had been a market place, each cell a stall for merchants to sell their wears.  The invades had preferred to do their business down by the waterfront and had turned the marketplace as a place to hold the formerly prominent members of the city.  Eventually the people of Sounis had revolted against the invaders, took back their land, and put their own King in power.  The new King had been content to keep using the old marketplace as a prison and the people continued their commerce at the waterfront.  

By the time Kura had even entered the prison, most people had forgotten that it ever had any other purpose than a holding pen for the country's criminals, those that couldn't pay their taxes, and the people that the King didn't like.

Kura was lying on his back in his cell, debating which would be better; food you didn't have to close your eyes to eat or clean clothes, when the door to his cell suddenly opened without warning.  Caught by surprise and nearly blinded by the light from the lamp, Kura almost fell off his bed, looking anything but impressive.  

"Are you sure he's the one?" a voice asked skeptically from beyond the light.

"Yes, magus," the guard with the light replied.

Kura hauled himself to his feet.  The King's magus was the most important adviser to the King.  In ancient times the people had believed that the magus was a kind of sorcerer with great magical powers.  Not even the lowest of the poor believed that any more.  

The magus was a scholar.  He read books and scrolls in every language and studied everything that had ever been written, and then some.  If the King wanted to know how much money could be made from an acre of wheat, the magus knew that.  If he wanted to know, however unlikely, how many people would starve if he burned that acre of wheat, the magus knew that too.  

The magus's knowledge, coupled with his powers of persuasion, gave him power over the King and made him a powerful figure at court.

Kura had seen the magus at his trial.  He was young for a magus, his brown hair without a trace of grey.  His blue eyes made him seem older than he probably was and Kura guessed that the magus was only a few years older than himself.

"Bring him," the magus said, and Kura found himself being dragged out of the cell and down the hall looking just as graceful as a sick cat.

They walked for a long time, it seemed to Kura.  He was dragged past the other cells and into a finer part of the building that was tastefully decorated until they finally stopped outside a heavy door.  The magus knocked once and then let himself in, the guards dragging Kura after him  

In side the room the sudden and bright light seared Kura's eyes and as they smarted and stung he blinked fiercely, trying to adjust.  He heard the magus moving over by the large desk and slowly he opened his eyes and looked around the room.  He didn't see anyone else.  In his chest, his heart began to speed up with excitement.  But he also felt deathly tired.

When the two guards on his sides let go of him, Kura swayed for a moment as if drunk and nearly fell before he caught his balance on the back of a nearly chair.  The chains still on his wrists and ankles clanked nosily.

"You may go," the magus said to the guards.  "Return in half an hour."

Kura's hopes, which had been rising a little since he had left the cell, fell.  Half an hour wasn't a long time.  With a sigh, he sank into the chair he had caught his balance on and sank into the feathered pillows on the seat and the back of the chair.  It felt almost as nice as clean clothes.

The magus's face darkened.  "Get up," he commanded in a tone that that bore no room for arguing.

But Kura only settled more fully into the seat.  He was tired, felt like shit, and what little he had eaten recently seemed to be churning in his stomach, trying to decide if it should make a second appearance.

The magus moved over until he was looming over Kura.  "You and I might someday attain a relationship of mutual respect," he said, his eyes burning into Kura's.  "Until then, I shall have your obedience."

Kura marveled at the magus's ability to convey a threat that would turn most men into quivering babies in so few words.  But his legs wouldn't lift him.  So the magus's threat be damned.

At least the magus seemed to realized that there was no way Kura was able to get up on his own and turned away in disgust.  "Never mind," he said waving Kura back as if he had tried to get up.  "You might as well stay there.  The seat would have to be cleaned even if you did get up now."

Kura felt his face grow warm and he grit his teeth together.  It wasn't his fault that he stunk.  He highly doubted that if the magus spent several months in the King's Prison he'd still smell like soap and book dust.

The magus watched Kura for several minutes, clearly unimpressed with the young, thin thief with red eyes and hair that had a frosted brown color.

"I am Seto Kaiba," he said at last, "the King's Magus.  I saw you at your trial."

Kura didn't reply.

"You've gotten thinner."

Kura shrugged.  Prison food did that to you.  It's called near starvation, idiot.

"Tell me," Kaiba said, "are you reluctant to leave the King's hospitality?  If I recall correctly, you claimed at your trial that not even this prison could hold you.  I almost expected to find you gone by now."  Kaiba was clearly enjoying himself.

Kura crossed his legs and wiggled deeper into the chair, making Kaiba wince.  "Some things take time," Kura said with another shrug.

"True," Kaiba agreed.  "And just how much more time to do you believe you will require?"

'About half an hour,' Kura thought to himself.  But he didn't say that to Kaiba.

"I believe that it's going to take a long time," Kaiba said, "the rest of your life, most likely.  After all, when you're dead you won't be in the prison any longer."

Kura scowled.  He didn't find Kaiba very funny.  "I suppose not," Kura ground out.

"An idle boast then," Kabia said, pretending to look bored.  "You boasted about a great deal at your trial."

"I can steal anything," Kura replied promptly.

"Yes, so you claimed," Kaiba returned.  "It was a bet on that ability that got you here."  He crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged.  "Such a shame that intelligence does not accompany such talents.  However, it is your skill and not you mind that I need.  That is, if you are as good as you claim."

Kura, trying not to appear over excited, repeated as calmly as he could, "I can steal anything."

"Except, of course, yourself out of this prison," Kaiba returned, leaning against his desk and raising an eyebrow.

Kura shrugged, he seemed to be doing a lot of that recently.  And he _could_ steal himself out, eventually, but he wanted Kaiba to propose a faster way.

"I see that you're learning how to keep your mouth shut," Kaiba said, pushing away from the desk and walking across the room.  "That's something at least."

With Kaiba's back turned to him, Kura took a quick look around the room.  It was Kaiba's study, but Kura had already known that.  Every wall was covered with shelves that were stuffed past the brimming point with books and scrolls.  Any space on the shelves not containing books was occupied by glass bottles, jars, and clay containers.  At the far end of the room was a curtained alcove and a barely visible pare of boots under the curtain.

"You could shorten your time here without cutting short you life."

Kura jumped in his seat and turned back around to look at Kaiba.  He had somewhere lost track of what Kaiba has been saying and it took him a second to recover.  "Go on," Kura said.

"I want you to steal something."

Kura relaxed as he noted the nervousness in Kaiba's posture.  "Do you want the King's Seal?" Kura asked with a smirk.  "I can get you that."

Kaiba's eyes flashed.  "I'd stop bragging about that, if I were you," he snapped.

Kura only snickered in response.  The King's Seal, a gold ring with an engraved ruby, had been in Kaiba's possession when Kura has stolen it.  Kura was sure that losing the seal had hurt Kaiba's standing in the King's court.

"There's something I want you to steal," Kaiba said, finished playing little games with the thief.  "Get it for me or not, I will make sure that you do not end up back in prison."

Kura rolled his eyes, ignoring the subtle death threat tagged onto his possible failure.  He only cared about one thing.  "What am I stealing?"

"It doesn't matter," Kaiba said, dismissing Kura's question with a wave of his hand.  "I just need to make sure that you've not become permanently damaged by you time in prison."

"I'm_ fine_," Kura ground out through clenched teeth.  "But I need to know what I'm supposed to be stealing."

"It's none of your concern," Kaiba replied.

"What if I can't steal it?"

"I thought you could steal anything," Kaiba taunted.

"Anything except myself out of this prison," Kura replied sweetly.  Frankly, he was surprised that Kaiba didn't slap him across the face for that one.

"Don't try to be smart," Kaiba instructed.  "You don't pretend well."

Kura, offended, open his mouth to say something that he shouldn't say in polite company, but Kaiba cut him off.

"We will have to travel a bit to reach my item.  You can learn about it as we go."

Travel.  The word resounded through Kura's mind.  If he could just get outside the city of Sounis he'd be free; no one could bring him back.

"Don't think I'm a fool," Kaiba said, knowing exactly what Kura was thinking.

Kura resisted smiling.  Kaiba was no fool, but he didn't have Kura's motivation.  Kura was just about to thank the gods for finally listening to his prayers, when he heard the metal rings of the curtain slid across the bar and remember the pair of feet he had seen in the alcove.

Determined footsteps crossed the room and a hand came over the chair and grabbed Kura's hair.  "Don't think that I am a fool either," the King said, coming around the front.

He was short, just like his father had been, and his hair defied the very science of gravity.  His eyes were violet and held nothing but cold arrogance.  His hair, all three colors of it, made Kura think of the old legends that his mother had told him when he was little; stories about gods that controlled thunder and lightening.

Kura felt his hair pulling free from his head and he rose up on his toes, trying to relieve the strain.  If he had been at his full strength he would have just gotten up and kicked the snot out of King Yami.  But no, he had to feel as weak at a half downed kitten.

Suddenly Yami let go and Kura fell to the floor with a thump, his legs folding under him.  Kura rubbed his poor head and pressed down on his hair, trying to force it back into his scalp.

Yami looked at Kura in disgust and wiped his hand on the front of his clothes.  "Get up," he snarled.

Kura cursed under his breath and hauled himself to his feet.  The King of Sounis did not intimidate him.  For the love of the gods, the King was shorter than Kura and only a year or so older than his magus.  In a fair fight, Kura could kick his ass.  Of course, Yami would never fight fair.  Kings didn't seem to know the meaning of that word.

Still, King Yami was a shrewd leader.  He routinely doubled taxes and kept a large army to stop rebellion from his citizens.  The taxes then supported the army and when it got too powerful, he'd send them off to fight their neighbors.  It had been King Yami's father who had driven the Attolians out of the land on the Sounis side of the Horusial Mountains, pushing them through Eddis and back to the Attolian homeland on the far side.  The rumors were that King Yami wanted to finish what his father had started and claim that part of Attolia too and that the Attolians were preparing for an all-out war.

Brushing past Kaiba, Yami picked up a box on the desk and tipped the contents out.  A cascade of heavy gold coins.  Just one would buy a family's farm and all their livestock.

Kura shrugged and crossed his arms, keeping his twitchy fingers to himself.  "My uncle used to keep that much hidden under his bed.  He'd count it every night."

"Liar," Yami sneered.  "You've never seen so much gold in one place in your entire, pathetic life."

Kura only smiled and declined to inform the King that he'd spent several days creeping through his palace and had fallen asleep in the ceiling above his treasure room.

Yami gestured back to the pile of gold on the table.  "This is what I'm offering to anyone who brings you to me if you fail to recover what you're being sent for."

Kura frowned.  There was no way he could outrun a reward like that.  He'd be hunted from one end of the world to the other.  See?  Unfair.

"Alive or dead, it doesn't really matter to me," Yami continued, studying his nails, "But I'd prefer you alive."

Kura tried to shut out the grisly, gory examples of what Yami would do to him, but he was mesmerized like a mouse in front of a cat.

Kabia sat on the edge of his desk, not nervous any longer.  It was clear that the King supported his plan and that he believed that the King's threats would keep Kura in his place.

When he was finally returned to his cell, Kura found it seemed warmer and safer in comparison to the magus's study.  Grumbling as the guards locked the chain back around his waist, Kura dumped the King's threats out of his head.  They were too unpleasant to dwell on anyway and he concentrated instead on the fact that he would be leaving the prison.  With that thought in mind, Kura made himself as comfortable as possible and fell asleep.

~TBC


	2. The Start

The Thief

Chapter Two

Disclaimer:  I don't own.  I don't make money.  Please don't sue me.

~The Inspector

~~~~

Kura was surprised when two guards came for him the next morning.  He had thought it would take a while for the preparations to be made, since Kaiba obviously only got the go ahead for his plan the night before.  Kura shifted uncertainly from foot to foot, unsure where exactly the magus planned to take him, but his spirits cheered when all his chains were removed.

Kura was marveling the absence of the clanking sounds that accompanied him as the guards led him past the rows of other cells and through the halls.  Then they reached the door to the courtyard and some idiot opened it.

Screaming bloody murder and howling and cursing, Kura tried to pull out of the guards hold and back into the shadows of the prison.  "Why don't you just fucking burn me at the stake!?" Kura hollered, trying to shield his eyes.  "It would be kinder, you assholes!"

It was nearly noon and the sun, the blasted sun, shown right into the courtyard, its light reflecting on every surface.

Kura hunched over in pain, but the guards simply picked him up by the elbows and dragged him, howling and swearing, out into the courtyard and the sunlight.

"I'm blind!" Kura continued to holler.  "Damn!  Gods damn!  Owwww!"

"Cut that out," Kaiba said from somewhere Kura couldn't see.  "Pull your self together and stop whining."

"The gods damn you too," Kura snarled in his direction.  To his relief, Kaiba and the guards left him alone and Kura was left alone to deal with the pain in his eyes.  

The pain didn't fade quickly, but after a few minutes Kura could take his hands away from his face and make out the stones beneath his feet through blurry eyes.  Some time later he was finally able to lift his head and take a squinting look around the courtyard.

Servants rushed about, bothering the group of horses, while Kaiba shouted orders at them, Kura practically forgotten.  One horse in particular seemed very nervous as a man unpacked a brace of saddlebags, searching for something and spilling the contents of the bags near the horse's feet.

Kaiba swore and scowled when whatever it was that the man was looking for was not found.  "Go back and look for it on the bench outside the galley.  That's where it was when I told you to pack it the first time, idiot."

Kura watched as the 'idiot' simply nodded and departed back inside, returning within minutes with a small leather case that he dropped into the saddlebags.

Kura still could only look at the world through slitted, blurry eyes, but he was pretty sure that he saw only five horses.  Not a large traveling party then, but each horse was loaded with baggage meaning, to Kura's relief, a long journey.

"Let's go," Kaiba shouted suddenly from over Kura's head, "I wanted to leave at daybreak.  We're already behind schedule.  Odion, get the boys on their rides.  I'll load the thief."

Kura bristled at being referred to as if he were a piece of baggage to be dumped in a saddlebag-or saddle in this case.  He could see Kaiba standing near one of the hoses and motion him over, but Kura didn't move.

He hated horses.  HATED them.  He knew that some people thought the beasts were graceful, noble, beautiful animals, but Kura knew better.  No matter how nice a horse looks from a distance, he could never forget that it would just as soon step on him as look at him.  No, he was sure it would _rather step on him than look at him.  Malicious creature._

"Get on the horse, you idiot."

Kura blinked and looked up at Kaiba's angry face.  "Me?" Kura asked.  On the horse?  Forget it!

Kaiba rolled his eyes.  "No, the other thief.  Of course you, you fool."

When Kura made no move to get up and move towards the horse, Kaiba got tired of waiting and grabbed the thief by the back on the neck and dragged him, protesting, over to the waiting animal.

Kura set his heels and resisted Kaiba's efforts.  If he was going to have to get onto the blasted animal eight times his size, then he wanted to plan the attempt first.

But Kaiba was stronger than him at the moment and he have Kura a good shake, making the thief's head swim and the cheep cloth of his shirt tear where Kaiba had his grip.  "Put your left foot in the stirrup," Kaiba snapped.  "I said you left one."

Eventually two grooms had to come over and after a lot of pushing and pulling, they finally got Kura into the saddle.  Once situated, Kura shook the hair out of his eyes and looked around.  Being so many feet off the ground did give one a sense of superiority and Kura scowled and crossed his arms, but then the horse moved a little and Kura uncrossed his arms in order to hang onto the front of the saddle, trying not to look like he was clinging on for dear life.  Damn horses.

Once the others in their party were up, Kaiba turned his horse and started out of the courtyard and into the city.  Kura's horse, he had decided to call it Dumb Beast III, obediently followed and the other riders fell into step behind him.

There was no fanfare, no crowds, no trumpets to announce Kura's departure from the cursed prison, but he didn't mind.  The last time he had been the center of a crowd's attention had been at his trial, and he hadn't liked that one bit.  That kid that had thrown that tomato was SO on his death list.

Still, it was rather depressing that no one knew that he was out.  

The streets the magus took them through weren't the main roads, though there were still a lot of people out.  There were merchants shouting, donkeys baying, and a lot of all around noise.  And Kura loved it.  It was a welcome change from the cloying silence of the prison.

As they made their way through the general traffic, Kura noticed that they were getting several curious looks.  His companions were all dressed in sturdy traveling clothes, but Kura was still in the clothes he had worn when he was first thrown in prison.  

His tunic had been a bright, cheerful yellow when he had bought it.  He thought it looked kind of dashing when he had bought it, even if yellow wasn't his color, but it had now faded to a greasy beige color.  It didn't help that in addition to the small tears he had managed to acquire by himself, there was a long tear across his shoulders, courtesy of the magus.

Further down the road, Kura recognized different shops that he had visited and looked wistfully at the shop on the corner that sold only earrings.  He twisted around in his saddle, but alas, they were too far away for him even to catch a glimpse of the merchandise in the window.

The little traveling party was down by the docks, nearing the outskirts of the city, and Kura was counting the cannon on one of the King's warships when he saw a boy run past.

"Jounouchi!" Kura called, "Hey, Jounouchi!"

He didn't get any further before Kaiba, grabbing Kura's arm and widening another small tear, kicked his horse into a trot and hurried down the street and around a corner, leaving the other riders to catch up.

"Damn it!" Kaiba snapped, glaring at Kura.  "What do you think you were doing?"

Kura rolled his eyes and pointed backwards.  "Jou's a friend of mine.  I was trying to say hello."  'Dumbass,' he added mentally.

"I don't want everyone in this blasted city to know that you're working for the King," Kaiba said, glaring at Kura.

Kura, not impressed with Kaiba's glare, shrugged with indifference.  "Why not?" he asked.

Kaiba threw up his hands in disbelief.  "Do you announce that you're going to steal something before you…" Kaiba paused and shook his head.  "Wait, I forgot.  You do.  Well, I don't."

"Why not?" Kura asked again, knowing that it would get on Kaiba's nerves.

"Because I don't.  Now shut up," Kaiba said, scowling.

"Yes, sir," Kura said, snapping a salute.  But as the horses began to move again, Kura snickered and made a face at Kaiba's back.

Before long they exited the city walls and Kura breathed a sigh of relief.  Now he began to look around at the new scenery in earnest.  They passed the fine houses and villas of wealthy merchants, and then the fields and farms that stretched on for miles in every direction.  Kura noticed that the watermelons in the fields were already as large as his head.  Heh, it was later in the summer than he had thought.  It had taken a long time to get out of prison.

"Don't pull on the reins," the man to Kura's right, the 'idiot,'…what had Kaiba called him?  Right, Odion.  Odion said.

Personally, Kura didn't know where Kaiba got the courage to call the man an idiot.  The magus was tall, but Odion was taller.  And with his strong build, dark skin, and knot of long black hair, he looked particularly fierce.  He was obviously a soldier.  Kura could see a sword tucked away in his saddlebag.  Kaiba had to either be a fool, or Odion was not as dangerous as he looked.  Kura was betting on the former.

But back to the reins.  Kura looked at the strips of leather in his hands and dropped them altogether.  The stupid beast obviously knew where it was going better than Kura and didn't need any additional guidance.

Without anything else to do, Kura looked over at the other two in their group, obviously the boys.  There was one younger, maybe a year or so younger than Kura, and one older by perhaps a year, if even.  Kura was at a loss to even guess why they were part of the party.  He saw a sword and scabbard on the horse of the older one, and maybe with some direction he could chop up a straw dummy.  The younger one however, looked completely useless.

Both boys were obviously well bred, defiantly not servants, and Kura wondered if they were perhaps brothers.  They were both dressed like Kaiba, in dark blue tunics that flared at the waist over their trousers.

The older one had light blond hair like bleached summer straw and violet eyes.  He was riding on Kura's left and every time a small draft of wind blew from Kura's direction, the boy would wrinkle his nose, but didn't bother himself to look at Kura.

The younger one was another story.  He rode behind Kura and every time Kura turned around he saw that the boy with long silver-white hair was staring at him with wide, brown eyes.

For the time being, Kura identified them as Useless the Elder and Useless the Younger.

Kura sighed and squirmed uncomfortably in his saddle.  In the city, Kura had soaked up the heat and sun, turning purposefully towards it to warm up his prison cold body.  It had been nice a first, but before the city was a lump of color in the distance, Kura felt like he was wearing a coat two sizes too small.  A coat made of sweat and dirt.  

All the smells of the prison floated down the road with him, only getting worse as the day's heat increased.  Kura had a suspicious feeling that even the hose under him was offended.  Not to mention that the riders on either side of him kept moving farther and farther away.

As the heat grew more intolerable to Kura, he grew more and more exhausted.  Finally realizing that he was going to do something stupid and embarrass himself, like falling off the damn horse, if he didn't rest, Kura tried calling to the magus.  "Hey," he called ahead, "I'm tired."  Ouch, that sounded pathetic.

But Kaiba didn't respond, didn't even turn his head to show that he had heard and Kura decided to make the executive decision.  He slid sideways down the side of his horse, hoping that his other leg would follow.

It did, though hardly gracefully.  He was sure that he heard Useless the Elder snickering at the comical figure he made, hoping on one leg while the horse walked on, nearly taking off his other leg before it caught up.

Once both legs were safely on the ground, Kura staggered to the side of the road and to the grass that grew there.  He sank to his knees, then flopped onto his stomach with a small 'oof'.

As Kura fell, he felt someone grab for this shirt, just missing it.  Heh, Odion.  Kura figured that he must have gone after him the second he had slid off the horse.

The rest of the group dismounted and gathered around Kura in a small half circle.  Kura opened his eyes a moment, seeing only the four pairs of boots, and then closed them again.

"What's wrong with him, magus?" Kura heard a soft voice ask, hesitant and worried.  Must be the younger one.

"Gods damn," Kaiba said instead, "We're only halfway to Methana.  We're supposed to reach Matinaea tonight."  At seeing the concerned eyes of the young boy, Kaiba shook his head.  "He's fine.  His body is just exhausted, not enough food to keep him going."

Odion, nudged the tired thief with the toe of his boot, but Kaiba shook his head.  "No, just leave him."

Kura, somehow still awake, was glad when he heard that.  They were just going to leave him.  He could lie there in the grass forever.  Kinda like a milemarker.  He didn't think he'd mind that.  Once you reach the thief, you know that you're halfway to Methana.  Wherever the hell Methana was.

But they didn't leave him.  While Kura slept, the rest of the party let the horses take a break and ate their lunches, waiting for him to recover

Damn.

~TBC

Note:  Hey, which does the hikari Marik go by?  Marik or Malik?


	3. The Bath

The Thief

Chapter 3

Disclaimer:  I don't own.  I make no money.  Please don't sue me.

~~~~~~~

Kura was very rudely awakened sometime later.  He didn't know where he was at first, only that he wasn't in his own bed at his home and he had to thwart an automatic instinct to thrash in surprise.  He had woken in confusion several times while in prison, and sudden movement always ground the metal into his bruises mercilessly.  Then Kura remembered that he wasn't wearing his chains any longer.  

Odion kept nudging Kura with one foot and Kura growled in irritation before finally rolling to his knees, grumbling the whole time.  He felt like he could eat Dumb Beast III and Useless the Younger and still be hungry, but his head felt clear.  Kura yawned and stretched before rubbing his face where the grass has left its bumpy pattern.

"Let's go," Kaiba said with impatience from atop his horse.  "We let you sleep long enough."

"I hate horses," Kura grumbled while Odion pushed him into his saddle.  "I'm hungry.  Hey, watch it!  I rather like that arm.  And I'm hungry."

"Will, you stop complaining?" Kaiba snapped.  "Here," he handed Kura a piece of cheese and tore a hunk of bread from a larger loaf.

Kura grabbed them and devoured his meal, setting everything he wasn't actively eating in his lap so that he could eat with one hand and hold onto the saddle with the other.  He really, really hated traveling by horse.  It was stupid.  He wanted to ask Kaiba why they hadn't bought a cart, but his mouth was too full.  Usually he would have asked despite that, but he didn't want to waste any time that could be spent devoted to his food.

It was dusk by the time Kura and the others passed by Methana.  They did not stop in the small town, but kept right on riding into the night.  There was only a sliver of moon in the sky and so the road was almost pitch dark.

Kura shivered in the cool air and thought back longingly to his earlier nap.  Gradually his eyes fluttered closed and his head dropped low on his chest.  Then someone was shaking him and he blinked open his eyes.  Odion was walking along side his horse, making sure he stayed awake.  Kura scowled at him, but it was interrupted by a yawn.

"Keep him awake," Kaiba called back to Odion, "The last thing we need is for him to fall off his horse and break something."

When they at last reached Matinaea, Kura's side felt black and blue.  It turned out that in addition to shaking him awake, Odion would resort to pinching.

Kaiba led the group up to the front of the two storied inn and dismounted, handing his reins to the groom that came out at their arrival.  Kura slid off his horse and sighed, grateful to be back on the ground.

Kaiba told the owner of the inn that he was a traveling landholder and that he had a prearranged reservation.

The owner was pleased to see them all, said something else meant to flatter those of wealth, and the group started towards the door, but Kura was stopped by the owner's wife.

"Not that one," the wife said, pointing to Kura and wrinkling her nose.  "He smells terrible.  I won't have him in my dinning room, or sleeping in my clean beds.  We run a business of repute, not some shoddy saloon."

"Dear," the owner whispered pleadingly, but his wife wouldn't budge and resolutely shook her head.

"No, absolutely not.  Not even if he's your lordship's son.  Which," she looked disapprovingly at Kura, "I hope he's not."

Kura blushed hotly in anger and embarrassment.  Yes, he smelled, he got the point already.

After much negotiating, the Kaiba and the owner's wife finally came to an agreement.  No, Kura would not stay in the barn with the horses (thank the gods), but he'd sleep on the floor, and he'd bathe immediately.  Kaiba handed the woman another silver coin to seal the deal and she pocketed it, giving directions to the water pump in the courtyard.

"Make sure you get him clean," Kaiba said as Odion led Kura away.

It turned out that the pump was in the middle of the courtyard.  A wall, two sides of stables, and the back of the inn made up the courtyard and Kura scowled.  It was anything but a private place to wash.

Kura was still lamenting the location of his bathing place when he felt Odion grab hold of his shirt at the waist and jerk it up.  Instantly awake, Kura snapped his arms to his sides, keeping his shirt from going over his head.  Kura glared at Odion and took a step away from him.  "I can wash myself," he hissed.

Odion shrugged and stepped over to the pump.  "Just make sure you do a good job of it," he said and began to pump the water.

The water gushed out of the pipe at the height of Kura's waist and Kura stuck his hand out experimentally.  "It's cold," he complained.  Still, he stripped off his shirt and dropped it carelessly to the cobbled ground.  His shoes were next and then, because he wore no stockings, his trousers.

Kura stood shivering and as naked as the day he was born in the courtyard.  The water splashed over his legs and gooseflesh rose on his arms and legs.  "Shit," he cursed, "It's cold."

But the other option was having Odion wash him, so Kura took a deep breath and stepped into the direct gush of water.  A patter of feet made him look up and he say Useless the Younger coming across the courtyard with a bundle in his hands.

"Don't get those wet," Odion said to the other boy.  "And go get a couple of sacks from the stables."

When Useless came back, Odion handed Kura one of the bags and a block of soap.  Kura wet the bag, lathering it with the soap, and then began to scrub.    It felt like he was washing off a year's worth of dirt from his skin.  Kura rinsed off and then soaped up again before Odion could stop the water.  He dragged the sacking over his shoulders and back the best he could, and then scrubbed his face and neck before rubbing the soap directly into his hair.  Clean, he was finally going to be clean.

The younger Useless stood quietly by and Kura wondered what the boy thought of him.  The iron around his waist had left deep purple bruises and he was covered in flea bites and soars, though the worst ones were on his wrists.  Where the manacles are scraped and chafed there were raw, sore spots that were partly covered in dark scabs that looked black against his prison fair skin.

The well bred, high class boy had probably never seen anyone with injuries on his body like Kura's.  Indeed, the boy was starring again, his brown eyes wider than Kura would have though possible and literally radiating innocence.

"Stop looking at me," Kura snarled and the boy blinked and then turned bright red, ducked his head and whispered an apology.  Kura rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his bath.

Once Kura had cleaned all the dirt and grim from his body and hair that he could, he knelt in front of the water, trying to find where the water would fall most gently on his wrists.  His whole body was shaking with cold and it was only by sheer stubbornness that his teeth did not chatter.

Odion stopped the water and looked at Kura's wrists.  "Leave them," he said.  "I'll take care of them inside."  He handed Kura another piece of sacking to dry off with and then gave him the clothes that the younger Useless had brought out.  Kura looked at them and then searched for his own clothes.  Useless the Younger was gathering them up and Kura jumped in front of him, stopping him.  

"My shoes," Kura growled.  It was growling or chattering teeth, and he was not about to appear weak in front of a child so much wimpier than himself.

"B-but," Useless stuttered, "The Magus said to burn everything."

"Not my shoes," Kura replied stubbornly, trying to look as dangerous as a wet, undressed, skinny boy can look.  He had the shoes specially made for moving undetected in people's houses.  The rest of the clothes he didn't care about and could be thrown to the flames with his blessing.

"You may have them," Odion said at last, releasing the Useless of deciding what to do "But if the magus insists, you will give them back."

"Fine," Kura agreed, rolling his eyes and searching for a dry place to get dressed.  He put on the trousers first, tucking them into his shoes and tying the belt around his thin waist to keep them up.  The shirt was next, followed by a short-sleeved, dark blue overshirt that came down to his thighs and didn't bind when he crossed his arms over his chest.  He checked, just to make sure.  

Kura paused, realized that his expression was almost happy, and looked over to where Useless and Odion where standing, watching him.  Kura scowled.  "I'm hungry," he said, and started back towards the inn.

In the dinning room, Kaiba and the other Useless were waiting, dinner set before them.  Before Kura even saw it, his nose told him it was stew.  And it smelled good.  The younger Useless slipped by and took his seat at the table but Kura was stopped by Odion.

"I want to see your wrists first," Odion said.  Kura sighed and scowled, but he had no choice, so he looked longingly at his food while Odion washed and dressed his wrists with the relief kit Kaiba had packed.  It was a neat, clean job, and Kura was impressed, not that he'd say so.

"About time," Kura said, jerking his wrist out of Odion's hold so that he could eat.

"Not exactly the grateful sort, are you?" Useless the Elder said with a sneer.

"Why don't you just shove your dinner up your-" Kura was interrupted by a sharp poke in his side from Odion's spoon.

"That's enough," Odion said.

Kura grumbled to himself, but then realized how good his dinner was and turned all his energy to eating.

While Kura ate, he listened to the others around him talk and found that Useless the Elder was named Malik while Useless the Younger was Ryou.  They were not brothers, but they were both apprenticed to Kaiba.

Kura ate until his head rested on the table, and even then he tried to continue.  Finally he fell asleep with his head pillowed on his arm, the last bite of stew still in his mouth.

~TBC


	4. The Food

The Thief

Chapter 4

Disclaimer:  I don't own.  Don't sue, please.

~~~~

Kura woke in the morning in one of the inn's rooms upstairs…on the floor.  Well, rug anyway.  It was better than a moldy wooden board in a damp prison cell.  And his blanket was clean and didn't smell like rat droppings.

Kura realized with a start that Odion must have carried him up here from the table.  Kura groaned and lay an arm over his eyes.  He could only imagine the pathetic figure he had made, being carried like a sleeping baby.

Kura pushed his hair out of his eyes, pausing to examine the long stands.  The previous night's wash had gotten rid of most of the dirt, but the color was still dingier than it was before he got into jail.

And it was tangled and knotted to absurdity.  Kura had always liked wearing his hair long, but this looked ridicules.  He idly thought of asking to barrow Odion's knife and cut off a few inches, but he changed his mind.  Odion would never give Kura his knife and could probably sheer Kura's hair short.  And he didn't want that.

"You're up."

Kura looked up, startled.  He hadn't realized that Odion had come in the room.  Then he scowled.  "What do you want?" Kura asked.

"The Magus says you need to wash again."

~~~~~~~~

Kaiba, Ryou, and Malik looked up from the breakfast table in surprise when they heard a yowl of protest and the sound of breaking pottery.  Ryou looked at Kaiba for an explanation.

"Odion is just making sure the thief washes this morning," Kaiba said smoothly.  He was sure that the thief would not want to wash again so soon, but he had seen the grime still in his hair and between the folds of his skin.

"Gods damn you!  I can wash myself!"

Ryou flinched and looked up the stairs.  "Are you sure Odion will be okay?" he asked.

Malik rolled his eyes.  "Don't be such a baby, Ryou," he said.  "Odion can take care of himself."

"I know that," Ryou replied softly.

A suddenly heavy clump of feet coming down the stairs made them all look up.  The heavy cursing that followed the angry steps affirmed that it was Kura.

Kura stomped down the stairs, trying to shake Odion's firm hand off this shoulder.  His scalp felt raw from all the scrubbing Odion had put him through and the waistband of his trousers was wet.  He shook his head furiously, sending water droplets all over the others seated at the table.  He felt like a half drown cat, still coughing up water from when Odion had pushed his head under.  Then he felt the eyes.

Kura looked up and saw everyone starring at him.  Useless the Younger, no, Ryou, his mouth was hanging open like a gaping, breathless fish.

"What's the matter with you all?" Kura snarled.

"Dear sweet mother of Ra," Malik said at last, breaking the silence.  "Ryou, he looks just like you.  Well, minus the demon horn thing he's got going on.  Holy cowness, I had no idea."

"The 'horns' as you so nicely put, are natural," Kura said, combing his fingers through his hair and getting them stuck on tangles.  "And yeah," Kura agree sarcastically, plopping down in an empty spot at the table, "It's amazing what a little dirt will do to white hair, isn't it, Ryou."  Then he scowled.  "Now shut your mouth before you start catching flies."

Ryou's mouth snapped shut, a bright blush coloring his cheeks, and nodded.

"Now," Kura said, folding his hands on top of the table.  "I'm hungry." 

To the delight of Kura's stomach, the oatmeal, though a little gloppy, had lots butter and honey on top.  Kura ate two bowls of it without taking a breath.  He heard Kaiba mutter something under his breath about a 'bottomless pit,' but Kura ignored him.

There was a bowl of yogurt near Kura'a arm, and though he wasn't sure if it was meant for him, he ate that as well.  Ryou had a smaller bowl and when Kura was sure that Kaiba was distracted, he slipped Ryou's bowl right out from under his spoon and replaced it with his own empty bowl.

Ryou looked startled and Malik stifled a snicker, but neither of them said anything to Kaiba and Kura finished it before reaching for the bowl in the center of the table that held oranges.

"Haven't you had enough?" Kaiba asked Kura with a scowl.

Kura smiled disturbingly sweetly and tucked two into his pocket and peeled the other and was eating it when the owner's wife came over to the table.

"Now then," she said, drying her hands on her apron.  "Will you be needing anything…"  She dropped off mid sentence and looked at Kura.

Kura smirked and flipped a lock of his hair over his shoulder.  "Yes, I know.  I clean up nice, don't I?"

The woman's face broke out into a smile and she chuckled.  "For a second there, I thought I was seeing double," she said, nodding over to Ryou.  "Where in heaven's name did you get so dirty?" she asked Kura.

"Prison," Kura said with a shrug.

"Ah," she said, understanding.  "People go to prison all the time now-a-days.  I expect you're glad to be out."

"Hell yea."

The woman laughed and shook her head.  "You're an odd one, that's for sure."  Then she turned back to Kaiba, who looked like he had just eaten a lemon.  "Will you be needing anything else, sir?" she asked him.

But Kaiba shook his head stiffly.  "No," he said, "We'll be stopping in Evisa for lunch."

"But thank you," Ryou added for his master.

The woman smiled at him and pat him on the head on her way out.

"Awwww," Malik teased as they all made their way outside to the horses.  "She thinks Rwyou's a wittle Kwtty Cwat."

"Shut up," Ryou said, blushing brightly.  "I was just being polite."

"Neko-Chan, Neko-Chan!" Malik chirped as he ran across the courtyard.

Over by Dumb Beast III, Kura looked around in frustration.  Mounting block or no, three to one if he tried to get on the horse himself, he'd end up being dragged several meters in the dust.  "Will someone help me with this stupid thing?" he called at last.

Ryou hurried over and held the stirrups still while Odion held the horse's head.  "You're no going to fall off," Odion commented when he saw the way Kura tried to slither onto the horse.  "She's not going to move out from underneath you."

"She might," Kura replied with a sour frown.

With Kura finally up on his horse, the party rode out of the courtyard only to be stopped at the Inn's door by the Inn Owner's wife.  She stepped right in front of Kura horse, which almost gave him a heart attack, and stopped the beast like it was no big deal.

"Here," she said to Kura, handing him a bundle wrapped in a white linen napkin.  "You'll probably get hungry before long.  It's a long way to Evisa."

Kura looked at her suspiciously, but took the food.

"My youngest, Honda, is in the prison right now," she admitted, when Kura continued to demand an explanation with his silent stare.

Ah, Kura understood.  They probably didn't bribe the tax collector enough.  Typical.

"He's been there for almost three months," the woman continued, her eyes lowering with the memory.

"Don't worry," Kura found himself saying, "Prison isn't so bad."

The woman smiled a little and Kura's horse followed the others out.

"Why the hell did I say that?" Kura grumbled under his breath.  "Had to be one of the best lies I ever told, and for what?  To assure some peasant woman?  Ra, cure me soon!"

Kaiba glared back at Kura and as soon as they were out of site of the inn, he turned and snatched Kura's snack bundle and smacked both Kura and Ryou on the head.

"Hey, that's mine!" Kura howled in protest, trying to grab his food back.  Ryou just winced and rubbed his head where Kaiba's heavy ring had caught him.

"I don't want either of you talking to anyone.  You might give away what we're doing and you," Kaiba turned to Ryou, "Just keep your civility to yourself."

"Yes, Magus," Ryou said, nodding to emphasize his agreement.

"Fine, fine, fine. Whatever," Kura grumbled.  "Do I get my food back?"

"No."

Kura was so busy sulking over the loss of his food that he didn't notice Ryou ridding beside him until the other boy spoke up.

"Was it really not so bad?" Ryou asked softly, peering at Kura through large brown eyes.

Kura looked Ryou over quickly, taking in the boy's polished look and well-bred mare.  Ryou's frame seemed slightly fragile, not even athletic like Malik's.  He wouldn't even be able to imagine what prison had been like.

"Prison," Kura said at last, "Was absolutely the worst thing that has ever happened to.  So no, I lied, you idiot."

"Oh," Ryou squeaked, figuring that Kura's life must have been filled with one terrible thing after another.

"Ryou," Kaiba called back, "Stop chatting with the thief and get up here."  Malik, who was ridding beside Kaiba turned back and smirked.

"Yes, Magus," Ryou said, urging his horse forward.

"I have a name," Kura snapped, glaring at Kaiba's back.  "It's Kura."

The Magus ignored him and proceeded to first lecture and then quiz the two boys on different topics.  Kura became hungry somewhere around tree classifications, but complaining didn't earn him an early lunch.  So he ate one of the oranges he had with him.

Then he ate the next.  By the time the conversation in front of him moved onto history, Kura was exhausted and still hungry.

"I'll jump off the horse and start eating grass," Kura threatened.

Finally Kaiba relented, or just got sick of hearing Kura complain, and opened the bundle of food.  But he insisted on dividing it between Kura, Ryou, and Malik.

"That's not fair," Kura complained, "I'm hungrier than they are!"

"Tough luck," Malik said with a smirk, taking a large bite out of the meat tart.

"Ryou," Kaiba said warningly, "No sharing with the thief."

Ryou blushed and nodded guiltily.  He had been thinking of doing just that.  The Magus just knew him too well.

"If he wants to give his food to the thief, let him!" Kura protested loudly.

It was late in the afternoon when the group finally reached Evisa and, more importantly to Kura, food.

"We aren't making good time," Kaiba remarked with a scowl as they all sat down at the tables set up under the trees.  "I hadn't counted on the thief's outstanding skill with horses."

Ryou blinked at the food set down before them and then looked back up quickly at Malik.  "Are we really supposed to eat this?" he whispered, hoping the old woman who had served them hadn't heard him.

Malik poked distrustfully at the bowl of yogurt and took a tiny taste, shuddering as he did.  "Blahck!  There's enough garlic in here to kill every vampire in the country!"

Before he could say another word, Kura simply took the bowl from him and began eating it.  "What?" he asked with his mouth full when he saw the two boys starring at him.  "You try to be a picky eater in Prison and tell me how well you fare."

The other food on the table consisted of wrinkled olives, hard cheese, and bread.  Kura ate most of what was put before the party, though the boys and Kaiba did eat the bread, which had been made fresh.

"You're going to make yourself sick," Kaiba said suddenly pulling the bowl of olives away from Kura.

"Just a few more," Kura said, trying to pull the bowl back, but Kaiba moved faster and handed the bowl to Odion, who promptly ate them all before Kura could get to them.

Kura pouted, but he knew that Kaiba was right.  If he forced much more into his stomach it was going to rebel and then he'd be hungry all over again.

That decided, Kura got up from the table and lay down in the grass.  All too soon, Odion was nudging him awake and Kura opened one eye to glare at him.  "Go away," he snarled.

"Get up," Odion replied, keeping his foot not so gently on Kura's ribcage.

"I don't want to," Kura shot back, rolling over, "Go away."

A second later, Kura found himself making hard contact with the ground as Odion easily picked him up a few inches, and dropped him.  "I hope you get bitten by something poisonous next time you try to sleep," Kura grumbled, rubbing his head.

Now quite awake, Kura got up and climbed onto the table where he had eaten lunch.  "Hey," he called to Malik, who was standing with the horses, "Bring that dumb beast over here for me."

Malik turned to look at Kura and then with a high classed 'sniff' turned his back on him.

"Hey, Blondie," Kura shouted, shaking his fist at Malik, "I'm talking to you.  Get my damn horse over here."  Kura didn't care how high Malik belonged on the social hierarchy and where he thought Kura belonged (the very bottom), as far as Kura was concerned, the thief was his own hierarchy of one.

The boys glared at each other, neither of them moving and Kura quickly judged the situation.  Malik was only a little older than him and was not much taller.  Malik had health on his side, but Kura was sure that he could put up a vicious and embarrassing fight should Malik try and force him over to the horse.

In the end, it was Ryou that broke the starring contest.  He brought Kura's horse over to the table and held it still while Kura got on the blasted beast.

"You shouldn't have done that, Ryou," Malik said as they made their way back out onto the road.

But Ryou shook his head.  "I didn't mind," he said softly.

"Why didn't you bring a cart," Kura called loudly to Kaiba from behind them.

Ryou turned abound and blinked at the thief, confused.  "A cart?" he asked.

Kura rolled his eyes.  "Yes, a cart.  You know, a big wooden box on wheels?  Usually pulled by horses?"

Malik flicked his hair over his shoulder.  "Now while would we have done something stupid like that?"

"I don't know," Kura shot back, "Maybe so I could be sleeping in the back right now?"

"We didn't plan this trip with your comfort in mind," Kaiba spoke up, intending to end the debate between the three boys.  But Kura couldn't resist getting one last jab in.

"Damn right."

Sigh.

~~~~~~~~~

The sun began to set before long and Kaiba swore furiously.  "We can't walk to our destination," he snapped, turning back to Kura, "Do you think you could at least stay on the damn horse if it trotted?"

Kura looked at the Magus with blurry, tired eyes.  "Probably not," he said flatly, too tired to be optimistic.

"Tough," Kaiba said, "You're going to learn.  Malik," he motioned the boy over to him, "Show him how to trot."

Malik gathered the reigns and had his horse trot a few yards away before turning it back around and return to the group.

"Nice job," Odion commented.

Malik smirked at Ryou and Kura.  Praise was rarer from Odion than it was from Kaiba.

"Ryou," Kaiba said, drawing out the quiet boy, "Your turn."

Kura wasn't much of a horse master, but even he could see that Ryou didn't ride nearly as well as Malik.  Beside him, Odion winced.

"Yes," Kaiba said to Odion as they watched Ryou turn the horse around and start back, "It's a shame that you can't take Malik back home to be Duke and let me keep Ryou to be Magus."

Kura looked up in surprise.  "He's going to be a Duke?" he asked, looking suspiciously at his timid look-a-like.  It was rare to see a future Duke apprenticed to anyone.

"He will be," Malik snorted, "If his father doesn't kill him first."

Kura's lesson in horseback ridding turned into a lesson for Ryou as well, Odion giving them pointers while Kaiba and Malik rode on ahead.

"Odion thinks you ride like a sack of potatoes," Malik called to Ryou as he followed Kaiba.  Ryou blushed and hung his head in embarrassment.  Kaiba took a swipe at Malik, but the boy quickly ducked out of the way, laughing.  Kura knew that one:  It you think you are going to get hit, at least _try_ to move out of the way.  Kura's father had taught that to him with the flat side of his sword though, not his hand.

The group moved quicker for a little while, thought they had to walk to horses often to rest them and more so, Kura.

By the time they finally stopped for the night, Kura felt like he was half dead.  He didn't see much of the inn and despite being hungry, he was asleep at the table before he had finished his dinner.

"He almost looks harmless when he's a sleep," Ryou commented as they watched Odion pick up the sleeping thief and carry him up the stairs.

"Appearances, Ryou," Kaiba warned sternly, "Can be deceiving."

~TBC


	5. The House

The Thief

Chapter 5

Disclaimer:  No, I swear I don't own anything.  Nothing except this computer…wait, no, I don't own the computer either.  Okay, so please don't sue me.  Thanks!

~~~~~~~~~

Kura woke up on the floor again, covered in a spare blanket.  A few feet away he could see Malik and Ryou, both asleep.  Like the first day, Odion entered almost as soon as Kura was awake and rudely took away Kura's blanket.

"Everyone up," Odion said, ignoring Kura's furious cursing.

Malik, who's eyes had slit open at Odion's entrance, tumbled out of his bed and yawned sleepily before staggering over to the dresser to grab his overshirt.

But Ryou didn't move.  Kura inched over and peered at the sleeping boy.  His eyes might as well have been glued shut.  Kura gave Ryou and experimental poke, but the boy only snuggled deeper into his bed.

"Psst!" Malik hissed, but it was too late.

Odion reached past Kura and picked Ryou up, holding him for a brief moment.  Ryou turned and cuddled against Odion, still not waking up.  Then Odion dropped him, waking the small boy up as efficiently has he had woken Kura up the previous day.  But at least Ryou landed on his soft bed.

"Ack!"  Ryou thrashed about in surprised and proceeded to fall off the side on his bed, landing on Kura.

"Hey!  Get off me!" Kura hollered, pushing Ryou roughly.

"That's enough," Odion said, his voice suddenly sharp, from somewhere over their heads and he leant down to offer Ryou a hand up.

Kura snorted, hauled himself to his feet and followed them outside to the water pump where Kaiba was already washing his face.

"Another bath?" Kura asked loudly.  Then he quickly stepped away from Odion, using Ryou as a shield.  "I can wash myself.  If you try to wash me again," Kura said to Odion, "I swear to Ra that I'll bite you."

"Don't risk it, Odion," Malik teased as he splashed in the water, "He's probably septic."

"Very well," Odion said, handing Kura the washcloth.

Kura, reassured, went to the water and stuck his hand in.  "Holy Ra!" he shrieked, yanking his hand back, "It's cold!  There's no way…what?  NOOOOOO!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What was that loud thumping noise this morning?" Kaiba asked as everyone sat down to breakfast.  He looked at the very wet thief suspiciously and Kura stuck his tongue out in reply.

But Odion shook his head.  "That one," he said, pointing his spoon at Ryou, "Could sleep through cannon fire.  One of these days he's not going to wake up until someone runs him through with a longspear."

Ryou blushed bright as everyone around him laughed.

"But seriously, Odion," Kaiba said, calming down, "Sleeping lightly is a necessary and prized virtue for a soldier.  It's not necessarily a fault in anyone else."

"Well, who wants to be a soldier?" Ryou muttered, hiding his still pink face in his arms.

"Not me," Kura said, swallowing his mouthful of oatmeal.  

All eyes turned on him, as though everyone had forgotten he could talk.  Even Ryou lifted his eyes from his arms to look at Kura.

"Who asked you anyway?" Malik said, flicking a small piece of bread at Kura.

"He did, oatmeal brain," Kura said, pointing to Ryou and eating the bread Malik had thrown at him.

Malik scowled and turned away haughtily.  "And would scum of the gutter know about being a soldier?" he said, a challenging gleam in his eyes.

Kura felt himself bristle.  "I wouldn't know," he shot back, "Not being scum of the gutter.  But my father is a soldier and it's a bloody, thankless, useless job for people too stupid and too ugly to do anything else."

A complete silence followed and all eyes turned to Odion to see how he would react to Kura's insult on his profession, manners, and intelligence.

"I see," Odion said slowly, "And what does your father think of your chosen profession?"

Kura shrugged.  "He's gotten used to it."

That ended the discussion but Kaiba did take the time to tell Kura that in the future he should just keep his mouth shut unless directly addressed and ignore conversation not specifically directed towards him.

"I'll do and say whatever I Ra dammed want," Kura snapped back.

Kaiba's frown deepened and he leaned closer to him.  "I have a riding crop in one of the saddlebags," his voice was low, but everyone at the table heard, "I will not hesitate to have it used on you.  Understand?"

Kura scowled and looked away.  "Perfectly," he said.

"Good."

~~~~~~~~~

A few extra packages, Kura hoped they contained food, had to be loaded onto the horses before the party could set out on the road again.  Ryou, Malik, and Kura sat under the trees, waiting for Kaiba and Odion to finish packing, and Kura took the opportunity to contemplate Odion.

He clearly wasn't a common foot soldier.  Ryou and Malik did not treat him like he was a drafted army man, and Kaiba obviously liked and respected him.  Plus Odion did not speak or hold himself like a commoner.  He was too sharp, too disciplined.  And Kaiba was clearly relying on Odion to enforce any orders he had concerning Kura.

Kura snorted when he remembered Kaiba's threat about the riding crop.  If it came to that, he was sure Kaiba would order Odion to be the one to use it.

Not far out of the little town, it became clear why Kaiba had not brought a cart for Kura.  Kaiba led the group off the main road that led to the pass through the Horusial Mountains and onto a path that had experienced far less travel.

They passed fewer signs of civilization now and the trail got very steep in some places so that the horses had to work hard to get up the incline, moving slowly in a single file line.

Kura clung to the saddle and horse as best he could, fearing that each new rise in the trail would be the one that caused him to slip off the back end of the saddle.  He held on with both his hands and knees, and by midmorning his fatigued body shook with the strain.

"I say we should stop for lunch," Kura said, trying to see Kaiba past the dark spots in his vision.

Kaiba looked back at Kura in disgust, but stopped his horse at the next grassy, open space he found.  Kura's horse followed obediently and stopped beside Kaiba's horse, despite Kura's attempts to get it to move into the shade.

"Why won't this damned beast go where I tell it?" Kura asked, exasperated and too exhausted to play games with the animal.

"Stop jerking the reins, it won't move," Kaiba told Kura as he began to unpack their noon meal.

"So I've noticed," Kura grumbled as he slid off the horse, "It must like your horse a lot more than I like you."

Beside him, Ryou laughed and shook his head.  "It's a packhorse," Ryou explained to Kura.  "It's been trained to stop beside it's leader." 

"Really?"  Kura looked at the horse curiously, analyzing the creature from top to bottom.  "Are they really that smart?"

"Smarter, at least, than you," Malik said, coming up behind the two white-haired boys.

Kura smirked.  "I've never heard of a horse that could steal a king's seal," he replied.

"That's what I meant," said Malik with a sneer.

"Go eat horse shit," Kura snarled and stomped over to where the food was.

Ryou starred after him, and Kura noticed.

"What?" Kura snapped at Ryou, and the boy looked away quickly.

"He wants to know if you were stupid enough to bet a man that you could steal the king's seal and then bring it back the next day as proof."

'Professional risk,' Kura though, but he didn't tell Malik that and turned his attention back to the skimpy meal.  "You didn't bring enough," Kura complained to Kaiba when the magus refused to give him more.

"We'll pick up some more provisions tonight," Kaiba said, "You won't starve."

"You could always just give me Malik's food," Kura suggested.

Kaiba gave Kura an ugly look.  "You'll eat your share and no one else's," here he shot a meaningful glare at Ryou, "No one is going to go hungry so that _you_ can eat."

~~~~~~~~

They party stopped again in the early evening.  It was far earlier than Kaiba had wanted to stop, but had taken Odion's advice to look for a campsite when they watched Kura nearly slide off the back end of the horse at a steep spot in the trail.

Kura dismounted and collapsed in the grass.  He lay there, just resting, while he watched Kaiba and Odion unpack the horses and Ryou and Malik make the fire.

Malik starred at the pathetic pile of wood that was trying to pretend to be a campfire.  "Haven't you ever gone out hunting overnight?" he asked Ryou.

Ryou blushed and looked embarrassed over at Odion.  "Not alone," he admitted.

Malik rolled his eyes.  "Probably for the best," he said, "You'd probably get lost and eaten by a wild animal.  Now, Your Highness," Malik teased, "You can't pile the wood on top of each other.  Here."

Kura ignored the rest of Ryou's lesson in making a campfire and drifted off to sleep, not waking until dinner was ready and Ryou came over to get him.

"Hey," Ryou said, shaking the thief's shoulder, "Hey, Kura, Magus says to come eat."

The fact that Ryou had used his name didn't go unnoticed and Kura slowly opened one eye and looked up at Ryou.  "Magus is going to be ticked off if he hears your talk to me like an actual person," Kura said.

Ryou, predictably, blushed, but he held Kura's gaze.  "You _are_ a person," Ryou said, and Kura couldn't doubt the sincerity in the smaller boy's voice.

Kura almost smiled and covered by rolling to his knees and climbing to his feet.  "Hurry up," Kura said to Ryou, "Or Malik will eat everything just to spite me."

After dinner, which Kura deemed decidedly skimpy, Kaiba gave Kura a bed roll to use.  It wasn't dark yet, but Kura set out the blanket anyway and lay down.  There was a heavy cloak as well for Kura to cover himself with.

Kura pulled the cloak close up to his neck and ran his hand over the finely woven wool.  The cloak was dark blue on the outside and lined a creamy gold color.  It was not decorated with embroidery, but it was well and carefully made.  

Out of the corner of his eye, Kura saw Kaiba watching him examine the wool, like a merchant assessing the value-or scum of the gutter touching something he knows he shouldn't.  Kura turned his back and let Kaiba think what he wanted.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning the group reached a small white farmhouse.  It looked abandoned and forgotten, like an echo of times long forgotten.  But as they neared, the horses stepping on weeds and flaked plaster, a man came to the door.

"I thought you'd be here yesterday," the man said to Kaiba was he dismounted from the horse.  "What was the cause of the delay?"

Everyone turned to look at Kura.

"He moved slower than I expected," Kaiba said, letting the blame fall squarely on the thief, which was mostly right.  "Did you get what I asked for?"

"Yeah," the man said, "And I've got enough here to watch the horses for two weeks.  If you're not back by then, I'll take them back to the city."

"Fine," Kaiba said with a dismissing wave.  He made his way inside the house, the others following obediently behind him.  

Kura looked at the halls and in the rooms that they passed.  The walls had no decoration, no signs or hints about who had once been there.  The rooms were cold and dusty.  A few pieces of furniture were draped in white cloth.  

Kura was so busy examining, that he didn't notice that the group had stopped and he walked right into Ryou, nearly knocking him over.  "Sorry," Kura mumbled.

Kaiba had led them to a back room where a row of beds had been set up.  "It's too late to start up the mountain today," Kaiba told the group.  "We'll head out early tomorrow morning."

"Wonderful," Kura said, pushing past all them, "Then I'm going to sleep," and he threw himself down on the bed closest to the big window and closed his eyes.

Kura spent the rest of the day drifting in and out of sleep.  Once he thought he saw Ryou and Malik outside his window, Odion coaching them as they fought each other with a pair of beginners' swords, but it might have been a dream and when Kura woke again, they were gone.  At one point Ryou came in and asked if he wanted anything to eat, but Kura was content to just sleep.

The sun had set by the time Kura woke up next.  In the other beds, the rest of the travelers were sleeping soundly.  Kura could see Ryou curled up on the bed closest to his own and Odion in the one closest to the door.

Slowly, Kura got up and, because he knew Odion would wake up if he tried to get out that way, slipped out the window.

Kura didn't go far.  He could just imagine the uproar that would ensure if they woke and found his missing.  And it was tempting, just to see the mass chaos.  But no, Kura hadn't gone outside in a fool's attempt to escape.  He just had to pee.

After emptying his bladder, Kura turned to go back inside, knowing that he'd probably get Kaiba's promised riding crop if he was found outside, but a white gleam from a brushy area stopped him.  Curious, Kura went over to investigate.  

What he found was a small, upright white stone.  It was weathered from the elements, but the etchings on it where still deep enough to be legible.  It looked like a grave marker.

Kura looked around and spotted two identical, though slightly older, stone a few feet away.  They were all graves.

"Mokuba," Kura read aloud.  And from the dates carved into the stone, he had died as a child.  The other two graves belonged to adults, probably the kid's parents.

Kura shivered a little, wishing he had at least brought his cloak with him and hurried back to the room and his warm bed.  Once snuggled in the blankets, Kura closed his eyes and the steady breathing of the others soon lulled him to sleep.

~TBC


	6. The Reason

The Thief

Chapter 6

Disclaimer:  Must you really make me say it?  Fine.  Don't own, don't sure, thank you.  There, that was short.

~~~~~~~~~~

Kura woke the next morning when Ryou shook him, saying something about breakfast.  Kura rolled off his bed and to his feet, following his nose to the morning meal.  Everyone else was already seated at the table and Kura wondered if it had been one of the pieces covered in the white cloths.

Kura drummed his hands impatiently while his porridge was doled out and attacked the bowl the second it was placed in front of him, stuffing overflowing spoonful into his mouth.

"Would you please try not to chew with your mouth open?" Kura said to Kura, no longer able to stay quiet about the thief's terrible table habits.  "Maybe you could pick up a few manners during your time with us."

Kura scowled at the magus, but did make a visible effort to eat with his mouth closed.

"We're just lucky he didn't get sick while in prison," Kaiba said to Odion as they filled the backpacks that they would carry (except for Kura).  "Or it would have taken more than three days of food and rest to get him moving again.

Kaiba looked over to where Kura, who was indeed looking better than he had at the start of the trip, was trying to show Ryou how to do a backbend from a standing position.  The smaller boy always got half way there and then tumbled to the ground.

"Quit fooling around," Kaiba snapped at his two apprentices and the thief, earning a 'what did I do?' look from Malik.  "Let's go."

~~~~~~~~

It was official.  Next to horses, the next thing Kura hated the most was nature.  The mountain they were now climbing (as in actually climbing with the horses left back at the house) was covered in steep slopes, rocks, and trees.  Other than the person-wide path they were on, there were cannons, gullies, and other natural death traps all over.  It was the perfect defense for the Eddis, the country hidden in the valleys near the mountain's summit.

The going was rough and hard, Ryou slipped on loose rock several times and scrapped his hands.  Odion bandaged them with long strips of white cloth while Kura looked on, adding his own comments about the uselessness of well bred children until Kaiba bopped him on the head.  Even Malik, the most athletic of their group, suffered from the trail was too busy concentrating on the path to bother Kura much.

When they finally stopped for lunch, Kura was pleased to notice that while he was grateful to stop, he wasn't dead on his feet for once.  As he took his share of the meal set out for them, he looked around at all the trees and wondered where they were.

"Where are we?" Malik asked, saving Kura from having to ask.

"Eddis, since that last climb." Kaiba answered as he took his journal out of his pack to jot something down.

"Eddis?" Ryou repeated, looking around as if the Eddisian Guard was about to come charging out of the trees.  He hadn't realized that they had crossed the Sounis boarder.  "Why?"

Kura looked up from his food in surprise.  He hadn't thought that Kaiba wouldn't even tell his apprentices where they were going or what their mission was.  Well, there went Plan A: Ask Ryou, as well as Plan B: Beat it Out of Malik.  He wondered if Kaiba had even told Odion.  Not that he'd be stupid enough to ask Odion.

"What do you know about Eddis?" Kaiba asked Ryou, snapping the journal shut, and Kura recognized it as another one of Kaiba's quizzes for his students.

"Eddis is ruled by a Queen," Ryou said, folding his hands on his lap, "And a court of eleven ministers, one of which is their Prime Minster.  Their main exports are lumber and silver from the mines.  The country is narrow and runs along the top of the mountains to the north and northeast of Sounis.  They don't have a lot of open land and so have to import most of their grain, olives, and wine."

"It sounds like you're reciting something out of a book called 'All Our Neighbors' or something equally simpleminded," Kura complained with a note of disgust.

But Ryou only laughed.  "Actually," he said, "It was called 'All Our _Modern_ Neighbors.'"

"I should have guessed," Kura said rolling his eyes and ducking a cuff from Kaiba.

"Now, Malik," Kabia turned to his senior apprentice, "What do you think are the most significant facts about Eddis?"

Malik rolled over onto his stomach and propped up his head with his hands, idly swinging his feet back and forth.  "Eddis controls the only easily transversable pass through the mountains between Sounis and Attolia, which are the two wealthiest countries in this part of the world.  Eddis has the only remaining timber industry on this coast, since all our forests have been logged.  

Because Eddis doesn't have many natural resources up in the mountains, they rely on trade.  They tax the caravans that go through the mountains and sell lumber for ships to both Sounis and Attolia.  Eddis depends on trade, so in times of war she is always neutral and tries to keep peace between Sounis and Attolia.  In the past, after we drove the Invaders out of Sounis, we would have invaded Attolia, but the Eddisians wouldn't let us."

Malik finished speaking and then screwed up his face like he had tasted something bitter.  "They were cowards and knew that they'd be safe up in their mountains."

Kura rolled his eyes in annoyance at this.  It was opinion held by most Sounisians, and it ticked him off.  "Why should the Eddisians have let Sounis through if war would hurt trade and their way of life?" Kura challenged, not caring if he hadn't been 'directly addressed.'

Ryou surprised Kura by answering the question himself.  "Because, Kura," Ryou said softly, "The Attolians had lied.  Eddis let the Attolians bring an army through the pass when the Invaders came because they were supposed to help us.  Instead, they joined the Invaders in taking up arms against us."

"So all this time Sounis has been out for revenge?" Kura asked in disgust.  "Several hundred years seems like an awful long time to nurse a grudge."

"Most people find it unacceptable to lose their freedom," Kaiba replied dryly.

"What's your point?" Kura challenged, "Eddis didn't have a motive to get involved in a fight because Eddis never got overrun.  The Invaders never conquered_ them_.  It wasn't their fight." 

"The Invaders eventually took over Attolia as well as Sounis," Kaiba said, "And yes, the rule of Eddis never changed hands at the invasion of an outside force.  Eddis just sat back and watched everything happen, never lifting a finger to help either of her neighbors that were invaded."

Kura snorted but had no reply and the rest of lunch was finished in silence.

~~~~~~~~

The group had stopped for the evening and were huddled around the fire when Ryou shifted his weight and looked up at the trees overhead, so thick that he wasn't able to see the stars.  "Why are we in Eddis?" he asked again.

"What do you know about the rule of succession in Eddis," Kaiba said instead.

It frustrated Kura how Kaiba answered questions by asking a question of his own, but Ryou and Malik seemed used to it.

"They have a queen, like Attolia," Ryou said, "So I suppose the throne is just passed from parent to child regardless of gender."  
  


"And has this always been true?" Kaiba asked, folding his hands on his knee.

Ryou looked uncertain.

"Since the Invaders," Malik supplied for Ryou.

"And before?" Kaiba asked and Kura noticed how his voice had dropped to a low, secretive tone.

"Are you talking about Horus's Gift?" Malik asked, catching on quickly.

"Yes," Kaiba said before turning to Ryou, who looked confused and trying to hide it.  "Do you know about the Gift?"

Ryou paused for a second, trying to remember if he had ever heard about it, and then shook his head in defeat, embarrassed at his ignorance.

"It's not surprising, not many do," Kaiba said, "But to make a long story short, according to old legend the country of Eddis began when the god Horus, who governs all other gods except for the Earth and Sky, gave a stone dipped into the water of immortality to Eddis's first king Shadi.  The stone kept the bearer from death until the end of their natural life and then it was passed to their child who would be the next ruler.  The possession of Horus's Gift became synonymous with the right to rule the country.  The stone can not be stolen and used, it must be given to the bearer.  A person can steal the stone, give it to their chosen candidate for the throne, and in that way make him the rightful king."

"But it's just a myth," Ryou whispered, though still fascinated.  Kura silently agreed with him.

"It's hard to say what's myth and what's real," Kaiba replied.  "There may have been a king named Shadi and he may have started the tradition.  But we do know that there was an actual stone called Horus's Gift.  When the Invaders came, the king of Eddis hid the stone to keep it out of Invader hands.  Then he died without passing it to his son and revealing its hiding place."

"Wow," Kura said unenthusiastically.

"Do you think it could ever be found?" Ryou asked.

Kaiba nodded solemnly and a short silence followed.

"Do you think you can find it?" Malik asked, his mind working fast to put together pieces of clues.

Kaiba nodded again, smirking a little.

"What?" Kura squawked, making everyone turn and look at him.  "Do you mean to tell me that we're out here looking for something from a _fairy tale_?"

"Reliable documents mentioning the stone did survive the Invaders," Kaiba said with a scowl.  Kura put it down as his not ignoring conversation not meant for him.

"Do you think you know where the stone is?" Malik asked Kaiba excitedly, drawing the conversation and attention away from Kura.

"Yes," Kaiba said, practically oozing confidence.

"If it really exists," Kura butt in loudly, not liking to be ignored when he had something to say, or something ask.  Hell, he just disliked being ignored unless it was to his benefit.  "Why are _you_ the first one to locate it in a hundred years?"

"I'm not," Kaiba said calmly, "According to the records I found, a number of people have gone looking for the stone, but those who came closest to where I believe it is never returned."  Kaiba almost smiled at Kura across the fire.  "That's why you are here.  Traditionally it took an exceptionally talented thief to bring away the stone."

"What happened to the old records?" Ryou asked suddenly.  "I'd love to read them."

"Sorry, Ryou," Kaiba said, "But I destroyed them after I memorized the information I needed."

Kura winced.  "It would have been better if they were never found at all," he groused.  Then louder, "What is all this for?  So that you can be king of Eddis?  A hopelessly backward country full of woodcutters?"  It was the kindest description of Eddisians that Kura could remember hearing in the city.  Most were not so kind.

"I will give the stone to Yami," Kaiba said, starring into the fire.  "He will be King of Eddis and I will be the King's Thief."

Kura's eyes flashed and he grit his teeth together.  "I will be doing the stealing," he hissed, "That makes me the King's Thief.  Or do you expect me to hand over the stone and then get knifed in the back?  Is_ that_ why you brought Odion with you?"

To Kura's further irritation, Kaiba didn't rise to his bait and Odion didn't so much as shift his weight.

"As if it would be necessary," Kaiba said coolly.  "You're the tool, Kura.  If a sword is well made, the credit goes to the blacksmith, not the hammer.  And how much smarter than a hammer can you be if you flaunt the proof of your crimes in a wineshop?"

Kura clenched his hands and his nails bit into his skin, leaving white crescents on his palms.  It was all he could do to keep from saying a whole lot he shouldn't.

"And what would you do if you were the King's Thief, Kura?" Kaiba asked, not realizing that he had subconsciously adopted Ryou's habit of calling the thief by name.  "Chew with your mouth open in the presence of royalty?  Chat with ladies of the court, dropping the h's at the beginning of your words and garbling the ends of most of them?  Everything about you reveals your low birth.  You'd never be comfortable at court."

Kura knew he was flushing as badly as Ryou usually did, but out of anger.  "I'd be _famous_," Kura hissed.

"Oh, you already are, Kura," Kaiba said pityingly.

"And Yami trusts you to bring the stone back to him?" Kura challenged, changing tactics.

"Of course," Kaiba snapped and Kura knew that he had hit a sore spot.  Kaiba had made sure that Yami had to trust him when he destroyed the information so that no one else could try to locate the stone.

"Are you so sure?" Kura taunted.

"Don't be stupid," Kaiba said, his eyes growing darker than storm clouds, and Kura knew he had made him angry.  Well good!

"And why should Yami by king of Eddis?  He already has a country," Kura continued to rant.  "All they have up here," he gestured around, "Is a lot of trees.  Does he want to take up carpentry or something?  Is he in need of a new hobby?"

"No," Kiba said, trying to remember that the thief wasn't worth getting angry at, "He wants the Queen."

Kura's mouth dropped open in shock.  "Do you mean to tell me," he sputtered, "We're going through all this trouble so he can get-"

"Married," Kaiba interrupted before Kura could finish his sentence.  "The Queen of Eddis has refused him so far, but she won't be able to if he can show that he is the rightful ruler of her country.  We've promised to bring her Horus's Gift on his next proposal."

"So," Kura said slowly, making sure he understood what Kaiba was telling him, "We're out here looking for something Yami's already promised to deliver?"  When Kaiba nodded, Kura couldn't hold back his outburst.  "What if no one believes that stupid story anymore?  What if you do manage to find Horus's Gift and everyone shrugs and says, 'So what?'"

"No woman can be so secure on her throne that she can risk offending her people's gods," Kaiba said calmly.  "She will bend to our will, or risk civil war amongst her people."

Kura shook his head and glared into the fire and for awhile it was quiet.  Then he spoke again, softer.  "He doesn't want the Queen.  He doesn't even want the country."  Kura remembered his earlier thought, of how Yami wanting to finish what his father started.  "He wants the pass through the mountains so that he can invade Attolia."

Odion and Malik nodded.  To anyone who understood Yami, this made more sense than what Kaiba told them.  Yami loved a challenge.  He loved to achieve what others said impossible.  He loved to accomplish the dreams of others that they had never been strong enough to complete.

Kaiba shrugged.  "It doesn't really matter why.  We just have to get it.  Now, I think it's best that you get some rest."

Kura growled, but, like a good little tool, perhaps a very well behaved hammer, he lay down by the fire and went to sleep.

~TBC


	7. The Story

The Thief

Chapter 7

Disclaimer:  Noooot miiiine.  Oooook?  Sooo dooon't suuuue meeee!

~~~~~~~~

Kura woke up the next morning in a very bad mood and took extra care to chew with his mouth open at breakfast until Kaiba winced and looked away.  Kura smirked and then proceeded to talk while chewing with his mouth open, spraying Malik with particles of food until the other boy gave him a portion of his own breakfast.

They saw no one on the trail the whole day and other that Kura's moodiness, the walk up the woodsy mountain was tiring but pleasant, and the only break in the peaceful silence was Kura's complaining.

"This is boring.  Why does boring make me so tired?"

"Shut up."

"I just wanted-ouch!  Hey, okay, okay!  I get the point!"

By the time they stopped for the evening, Kura was bored of sulking and took to doing anything he could to tick off Kaiba.  It was amusing to watch the magus loose his temper and then regain it when he remembered that Kura was too far below him to be worthy of contempt.

"How can we make up for that day we lost?" Kaiba said to Odion as he threw another piece of wood on the fire, determined to ignore Kura this time.

"You should have bought a cart for the first part of the trip," Kura said loudly.  And then, holding out his plate, "Can I have more?"

Kaiba looked at Kura's half empty plate.  "You haven't finished what you have and you are asking for seconds?" he asked incredulously.

"You should have brought more food," Kura replied, spraying bits of food everywhere, including into the fire which made it crackle like fire snaps.  Malik, having learned from that morning, sat far away from Kura.

"You can talk," Malik snapped, holding his food close to him incase Kura decided to attack.  "You don't have to carry it."

"Yeah," Kura agreed, "I'm worn out just dragging myself up these mountains."  He yawned and lay down on his bedding.  Then he turned over a few times, restless.  "Why didn't you bring something more comfortable to sleep on?"

Kaiba was seriously thinking of simply strangling the thief, the stone be damned, when Ryou spoke up, saving the thief's hide.  

"Would you tell us more about the old gods of Eddis?" Ryou asked softy and Kura opened his eyes to wink at Ryou, knowing that the boy had changed the magus's focus on purpose.

"I thought your father didn't want you to fill your head with that stuff," Malik said, draped upside down on a large rock.  How that could be comfortable, Kura didn't know.

"He just doesn't want people to believe it," Ryou said, his face dropping with the mention of his father.  "I don't think he'd mind to it in an academic interest."

"You don't?" Malik laughed, nearly falling off the rock and onto his head.  "I thought academic interest was exactly what he objected to.  After all, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he threaten to throw you into a river tied to a sack of encyclopedias?"

Ryou blushed and Kura knew that Malik hadn't been wrong and Ryou's blush was as good as a verbal answer.  But when Kaiba, Malik, and even Odion laughed, Kura scowled darkly.

"Stop picking on him," Kura said, rolling over.  "He's probably a whole lot smarter than you."  Ryou gave him a grateful smile and then turned back to Kaiba expectantly.

"Very well," Kaiba said as he made himself comfortable.  He thought of a moment and the fire cast dancing shadows across his face.  "I know just where to start," Kaiba said at last.

With nothing else to do and not feeling like tormenting Malik at the moment, Kura lay back and listened.

Earth's Creation

And the Birth

Of the gods

In the beginning, Earth was alone.  She desired a companion and so made the sun.  But Ra always left her alone at night and so Earth made the moon, Isis.  But this goddess sometimes forgot the Earth entirely and Earth became lonely again.  So Earth created the Sky and he wrapped himself around her and promised to always be her companion.  And Earth was happy.

The Earth and The Sky's first children were gods and goddesses of the mountain ranges, and Horus was the oldest and most powerful.  Their other children were the oceans middle sea and their youngest offspring were the great rivers Selket, Seshmu, and Ptah.

One day The Sky informed Earth that he wished to know what he looked like, so Earth made a thousand goddesses to hold up mirrors for The Sky, and they were the lakes.

The Sky loved to look at himself in the lakes, for he was very beautiful.  "You are very dull," The Sky told Earth carelessly.  "The only pretty thing about you is the lakes."

Hurt, Earth tried to beautify herself with forests, and trees, and flowers of every bright color.  But The Sky only saw the lakes and they bore him children that were the smaller rivers and streams.

Seeing this, Earth because jealous.  She made the trees grow up around the lakes to hide them from The Sky's view.  At this, The Sky became angry and, taking soil and snow from The Earth, he mixed it together and created humans.  So, while we come from The Earth, it is The Sky who created us.

But The Sky had been impatient when he created people and did not do as good a job that Earth would have done.  Man came out small and weak and without any gifts of the gods.  They could not clear the trees like The Sky had wanted.

Earth confronted The Sky about the humans and he was ashamed.  He confessed that he had created them because he wanted to see the lakes.  Earth told The Sky that she had just wanted him to talk to her.  The Sky promised that he would only look at the lakes sometimes and Earth promised to only hide some of the lakes.

And Earth took pity on the humans and gave them gifts of fire, seeds, and animals to raise and eat.  But the people were ungrateful and only thanked The Sky for having made them.

Earth became angry and shook with her fury, causing the people's houses to fall down and their animals to run away.  The people realized their mistake and from then on there were some people who thanked Earth for her gifts and some who thanked The Sky for their creation.

When Kaiba finished his story the group around the fire remained quiet.  Out in the middle of the woods of Eddis, the story seemed more powerful.

"Do the people of Eddis really believe that?" Ryou finally asked, breaking the silence and setting everyone back at ease.  The magic that the moment had held over them had disappeared with his words.

At Ryou's ridicules question, Kura couldn't keep back his laugh and the group turned to him.  "Oh come on, Ryou," he said, shaking his head.  "Of course they don't believe it.  It's religion.  In Sounis they like to hold feast days so they pretend that there's a god that wants the sacrificial pieces of a cow so they can eat the rest.  It's an excuse to have a party and kill a cow."

"You sound like you're an expert on this topic, Kura," Kaiba said, "What do you know about it?"

Kura sat up and scooted closer to the fire before he answered.  "My mother was from the mountain country," he said, "It's the same there.  Everyone likes to hear the old stories, but that doesn't mean they expect a god to show up at their door for dinner."

"Is that so?" Kaiba said, and Kura wasn't sure if he was being sincere or humoring him.

But Kura's tongue was running away from him.  "Yes," he said, "And you made a lot of mistakes with your story.  You aren't even pronouncing the name of the country right.  The people of the mountain call it Eeddis, not Eddis.  And then you left out the part where Earth's tears turn the oceans to salt when The Sky ignores her."

"Did I?"

"Yes," Kura rattled on, "My mother told me the stories when I was little.  I know them all and I know that the people call their country Eeddis."

"Kura," Kaiba said, holding up a hand to stop Kura's endless flow of words, "Eeddis is the old pronunciation that was used before the invaders came.  We've changed the pronunciation of many of our words since the invaders, but the Eddisian pronunciations haven't changed.  Eddis is how it's pronounced now, whatever the people of that country say."

"It's their country," Kura grumbled.  "They should know the right name for it."

"It's not that Eeddis is the wrong name, Kura," Kaiba said, wondering why he was even trying to reason with the little urchin, "It's just an old way of saying the same word.  The rest of the civilized world has moved on."  Kaiba shook his head.  "As for the story, I must admit that I always find it interesting to hear different versions of folktales, Kura, but you mustn't think that your mother's are true to the original ones.

"Excuse me?" Kura hissed, his hair fluffing out like a very irate gutter cat, fleas and all.  "And why is that?"

"I've studied the stories for many years and I'm sure that I have the most accurate versions.  Often in cases of emigrants like your mother, they can't remember the whole story and so they make things up and then forget that it was ever different.  It was inevitable that these myths that were created by great story tellers became debased in the hands of common people."

"My mother never debased anything in her life," Kura snapped hotly, his teeth grinding together.

"Oh, don't be so offended," Kaiba said, waving away Kura's words.  "I'm sure she never meant to, but your mother was uneducated.  Such people rarely understand the things they discuss day by day.  She probably didn't even know that your name, Kura, comes from the longer name Bakura."

"Of course she knew," Kura insisted, his eyes glowing from the fire light.  "You don't know anything about my mother, you never knew her."

"I know enough about her," Kaiba said coldly.  "She fell from a fourth-story window of Baron Pegasus's villa and died when you were ten years old."

Kura froze cold and all that could be heard was his irregular breathing.  He had forgotten what was written in his criminal record.  Even a simple pickpocket could have his entire life story found written in tiny handwriting on a huge collection of paper sheets in the prison's record room.

Kaiba saw that he had cut the thief deep and kept going, finally able to give back some of what Kura had dished out all day.  "Maybe I'm wrong," he said, folding his hands calmly.  "Maybe Kura is a family name.  The title of King's Thief is a hereditary one now in Eddis, and if my memory serves me correctly the current Thief is named Bakura.  Perhaps you're related.  A cousin to someone exalted."

Kura felt himself turn red to the very tips of his hairline and Kaiba snickered, joined a second later by Malik.  Ryou gave him a sympathetic look, knowing what it was like to be on the receiving end on endless teasing, and Odion almost didn't even seem to be paying attention to their conversation.

"Bakura," Kura fairly sputtered, "Is the name of the god of thieves.  All of us in this profession are named after him."  With that, Kura jumped up and retreated back to his makeshift bed and lay down, burying his bright face into the cloak.  He had to admit, Kaiba had gotten the best of him.  Everyone else seemed to agree.

~~~~~~~~~

Kaiba was as smug as a cat that had just eaten the canary and blamed it on the dog the next day.  It made Kura sick just to look at him.  After breakfast, made by Odion, everything was packed up and they continued their march up the mountain.

It was noon by the time the reached the crest of the mountain and looked down the other side of the mountain ridge.

"Everything looks so small," Ryou commented, keeping one hand firmly tangled in a low growing bush as he looked down.  He paled and shook his head.  "It's a long way down."

"Have a problem with heights?" Kura asked Ryou, poking him in the stomach.  Then he looked down the steep slope.  "Oh hell no," Kura said, taking a step back.

"What is it now?" Kaiba demanded, anxious to get moving down the mountain.  He turned just in time to see Kura plunk himself down in the dirt and cross his arms across his scrawny chest.

"I'm not going down that thing until I've had lunch," Kura announced loudly.  "I have no intention of dying on an empty stomach."  He knew that he was being flip, but he was quite serious.

"You've got to be joking!" Kaiba hissed, his hands clenching into fists.

But Kura just turned up his nose.  "If you want me to go down that death trap, I want food, or you'll have to carry me."

"We will do no such thing!" Kaiba shouted, his face turning a furious shade of red.  There was no way he was going to bend to the will of one idiotic, adolescent, petty thief.  He motioned Odion over.  "Get him up," he snapped.

Kura clenched his teeth and dug his fingers into the grass, preparing to make it as difficult as he could for Odion to even get him to stand, when a shadow fell over his face.  Surprised, Kura looked up to see Ryou standing in front of him, his arms spread out, stopping Odion's advance.

"Um," Ryou started, blushing, "I'm kinda hungry too.  Maybe it would be a good idea to eat first."  He lowered his arms and fidgeted under Kaiba's glare.  "You know, so we'll all be at full strength and all that, um…"  

"Fine," Kaiba said, cutting off Ryou's increasingly hard to decipher speech.  At least this way it seemed like he wasn't giving into the thief.  It would have been too dangerous, really, for someone to carry him down the mountain.  So they would have lunch.

But Kaiba didn't even wait for Kura to swallow his last bite before he began directing everyone down the mountain.  Kura wanted to go last, but Kaiba flatly refused.  He want second last then, with Odion behind him.

The way down was as difficult as Kura had thought it would be.  Sharp bits of shale accidentally kicked down by Odion behind him rolled past and continued their way down.  Poor Kaiba at the front had to worry about everyone's rocks and Kura kicked a few down on purpose just for him but stopped when he saw Ryou get hit in the back of the head with one of the rocks dislodged by Odion.

Kura's heart leapt up to his throat when he saw Ryou stumbled after the rock hit him and slide a few feet down the mountain's face, unable to stop his momentum until he finally dug his feet into the rocks and came to a shuddering halt.

"Ryou's hurt!" Kura called needlessly.  Everyone had seen what had happened.  Kura tried to stop moving so that more rocks wouldn't hit his small look-a-like, but he began to slip when he stopped and had to keep going.

Ryou moaned and curled closer into himself, more rocks clattering down the mountain with his movement.

"You have to get up, Ryou," Kaiba called, not able to stop moving.  "There's no where safe for us all to stop here."

"Come on, Ryou," Kura called down.  "Get up.  If you don't, I'm eating your food tonight."

Ryou laughed softly at that and then slowly, his arms shaking with the strain, he pulled himself to his feet and continued down the slope.

It wasn't until they were all at the place where the land evened out again that they could check Ryou.

Odion went over to the small boy the second his feet touched the flat ground and examined his head.

"It's all right," Ryou said to Odion, though he still looked too pale for Kura's comfort.  "It's not bleeding."

Kura pushed Odion out of the way to see for himself.  With careful gentleness, he parted Ryou's long hair to get a better look at where the rock had hit.  Sure enough there was a nice bump on Ryou's head, but it didn't seem serious.  "You'll be fine," Kura said, patting Ryou on the head like he was some pet kitten rather than a young boy.

"I am sorry," Odion said, drawing back to Ryou's side as Kura left it.  He seemed very serious in his apology for something he couldn't have prevented.  "Do you need to rest for awhile?" he asked.

Kura's ears perked up at this.  "We could have a second lunch," he suggested, earning a glare from Kaiba.

"Absolutely not!" Kaiba snapped, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.  "We're moving now."

"I'm fine," Ryou agreed, taking his pack from Malik.  "Don't worry about it."

Kura followed Kaiba and looked out at the path set before them.  It was little more than a goat path, and very overrun with grass and weeds.  When he commented on that, Kaiba just shrugged.

"There are easier ways to get down to Attolia," Kaiba admitted, "But this one allows us to pass undetected."

"I sure hope so," Kura muttered.  The last thing he wanted was to be caught strolling through Eddis with the King's Magus from Sounis.

A couple of miles later, Kaiba began questioning his students again.  Malik did very well at the beginning, answering most of the questions but then Ryou began answering a few and Malik's mood soured until Kaiba sent Ryou to walk in the back so he could question Malik alone.

Kura turned his ears back and was surprised to hear Ryou and Odion chatting behind him like old friends.  Odion wanted to know what had ticked Malik off so bad.

"Identifying mountain ranges," Ryou answered.  "He doesn't like that sort of thing, so he doesn't pay attention.  But still, he knows a lot more than me."

"You'll catch up," Odion assured him.

Ryou shrugged and sighed.  "I suppose, if my father let's me stay."

"And why wouldn't he?" Odion asked curiously.

"You know father," Ryou said with a heavy sigh and sad shake of his head.  "If he finds out that I want to stay, he'll take me away."  Ryou ran a tired hand through his hair and winced when his hand hit the bump on his head.  "Sometimes I wonder if he even cares."

Odion put his hand on Ryou's shoulder and squeezed it gently.  "Of course he does," Odion said softly.  "He just doesn't know how to show you.  He thinks that if he can toughen you up, then he's done his job in raising you.  He doesn't realize that you like to learn."

Ryou smiled a little at this and then looked up at the trees over his head.  "Do you know where we are going?" he asked at last.

Odion nodded.  "Attolia," he said.  Then he added, "Your father sent me with you to keep an eye on you."

Ryou blinked and then laughed.  "No, really," he said, "Why are you with us?"

"Just as I said," Odion replied calmly, but Ryou shook his head.

"I bet the magus needed someone reliable and father said that he couldn't have you without me.  Another training exercise of his."

Kura bet he was right.  That was the only way it made sense that the magus would have two high class children with him.  He needed Odion and Odion came with Ryou.  Kaiba couldn't take his younger apprentice without taking his older one and so Malik had to come too.

Kura just hoped that having the two boys with them didn't mess up any of the plan.

~TBC

Author's Note:  Yes, I love the book, but I would recommend waiting to read it until my story is over so everything isn't given away.  Then, after that, you should read the book!


	8. The Consequense

The Thief

By The Inspector

Chapter 8

Disclaimer:  Don't own.  Not mine.  Just fun.  Make no money.  So don't sue.  Thanks so much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kura soon became bored of Ryou's conversation with Odion and checked on Kaiba and Malik.  Kura could barely quell a snicker when he saw how bored Malik seemed.  What, more mountain ranges?  Or was it tree classifications this time.  Ah, close.  Flower identifications.  

"Hey, Kura?" 

Kura looked up, surprised to see that Ryou had moved up beside him.  It was beyond him why the shy boy sought out his company, but he couldn't say that he minded…much.  "What?" Kura asked.  

"Are you really named after the god of thieves?"  Ryou picked a leaf out of his hair and then looked hopefully at Kura, waiting for him to answer.

'Ah,' Kura thought, deciding not the roll his eyes at the younger boy.  Ryou knew that he was, so this was just a way to get him talking.  In other words, Ryou was feeling chatty.  "Yup, sure am," Kura answered.  

Ryou shook his head, confused.  "But how did they know what you were going to be when you were only a baby."  

Kura winced.  Even the idea that he had ever been something a weak and defenseless as a baby made him shudder.  "Well," Kura returned, mentally subtracting the 'baby' from the sentence, "How did they know what you were going to be?"  

"My father was a duke," Ryou replied, not quite sure what that had to do with anything.

"And my mother was a thief," Kura finished.  "My father wanted me to be a soldier but he's been disappointed."  Behind them, Kura heard Odion make a noise, clearly signifying that he believed the disappointment of Kura's father was justified.  

"Your father?" Ryou said, his eyebrows lifting, "Did he?"  

Kura looked up from the trail (making sure he didn't do anything stupid like trip over a rock and land on his face) at the surprise in Ryou's voice.  When he searched Ryou's face, he found the same surprise there.  "Why shouldn't he?" Kura asked, narrowing his eyes.  

"Oh," Ryou said, startled.  Who would have thought the boy was so jumpy.  "I, well, I mean, oh dear."  Ryou blushed bright and Kura scowled.  

"What surprises you, Ryou," Kura snapped, suddenly stepping in front of Ryou and stopping.  Ryou skid to a halt to avoid running into the thief and looked up to meet his eyes.  "That my father was a soldier?"  Kura's teeth clenched together and Ryou took a few hesitant steps back.  "Or that I knew him?"  Kura's blood was boiling and he glared at Ryou, not caring that he was scaring the smaller boy.  "Did you think I was illegitimate?" he hissed.  

Ryou became even redder and then went very pale.  He never meant to anger Kura so.  "I, I didn't m-mean, I-" Ryou stammered, his hands coming up in defense.

"That's enough," Odion said sternly, coming up behind Ryou and placing a steadying hand on his shoulder.  He narrowed his eyes at Kura.  It was times like these that he felt like a nursemaid to the group.  Odion prodded Kura forward.  "Get moving."  

Kura scowled and whirled around, his hair almost hitting Ryou in the face.  He stalked forward and then turned back to glare at the two, but his glare fizzled and died, as did his anger.  Ryou, having moved away from Odion, seemed to waver uncertainly on his feet and his face was too pale.  He seemed, so sad.

Kura blinked and shook his head once.  Could anyone really look that pathetic?  Ryou's eyes widened and sparkled with sorrowful apology.  Kura signed.  Yes, then.  Kura went back and grabbed Ryou's arm, pulling him along, careful not to hold so tightly as to bruise the kid's fair skin.  

"Come on then," Kura grumbled, ignoring the look of startlement that flashed through Odion's eyes when his young change was bodily handled by the thief.  

"I'm really, really sorry," Ryou said after a minute.  His voice was so soft that Kura almost had trouble hearing him. "I didn't mean any insult-"  

"I know," Kura said, cutting him off.  "Had Malik said what you did, then yeah, it would have been an insult and I would have knocked his ass to the ground.  But you…" Kura tugged on a long stand of Ryou's hair.  "You wouldn't be able to insult someone on purpose it your life depended on it."  

Ryou smiled and shook his head, happy that Kura's mood had changed and that he wasn't angry with him.  "No, I don't suppose I could," he said, oddly cheerful.  "Not convincingly, anyway."

Kura threw his head back and laughed, flashing his sharp teeth.  "I'll bet," he snickered.  

In front, Kaiba heard the noise behind him and held up his hand for Malik to stop his recitation.  Kaiba turned around to check on the others.  The thief had his arm thrown lazily around Ryou's shoulders and was laughing about something.  Oh, this would not do.  "Ryou," Kaiba snapped, causing the small boy to flinch before guiltily looking up to meet Kaiba's eyes.  "Get over here and stop fraternizing with that thief."  

Ryou nodded quickly and hurried to catch up with his teacher.  Even though he had gotten mostly used to Kaiba's bark, he still didn't like to push his patience.  Just in case.

Kaiba let Ryou pass him, locked eyes with Odion and jerked his head towards Kura.  He and Odion had talked earlier about what to do about the growing friendship between the thief and Ryou.  Odion inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement and grabbed the back of Kura's shirt.  

"Hey!" Kura yelled, twisting in Odion's grip.  He felt like a cat being picked up by the scruff of its neck.  "Let go!"  

"I need to speak with you," Odion replied sternly, not loosening his hold on Kura.  

"Ever hear of tapping someone on the shoulder?" Kura groused.  He stopped struggling and turned around.  "What?"  

Odion looked down at Kura and frowned.  "The magus doesn't want you hanging around Ryou," Odion said, not bothering to tiptoe around the topic.  "And frankly, neither do I."  

Kura scowled and jerked out of Odion's hold.  "I'll talk to him if I want," he retorted flippantly.  Besides, since when did he start caring about why Kaiba said?

"You are born beneath him."  

Kura went ridged and his eyes flashed.  "Shut up!" Kura snapped.  "Don't preach to me about my 'place' because I don't want to hear it.  You don't seem to mind Ryou forgetting how high and mighty he is to talk to you."  

"I have known Ryou since he was born," Odion said, his voice getting sharper.  

"That's no excuse," Kura sneered.  "So unless you want to try to convince Ryou to stop talking to the both of us, I suggest you leave me alone.  I'll talk to Ryou if I want to and neither you nor the magus can do anything about it."  With that, Kura turned and stomped down the tail, cursing both Odion and Kaiba in all the languages he knew.

~~~~~~~~

The sun was just beginning to set, casting its golden beams over the land when the travelers began their descent into Attolia.

Ryou titled his head back and let the warm wind play on his face, blowing his hair back in silky tangles.  "It's so green," Ryou breathed, opening his eyes again and peering down into the valley.  "It's pretty."

"Attolia gets twice as much rain as home," Malik spoke up.  "The export wine, figs, olives, and grapes.  They have pastureland to raise their own grazing animals."

Four sets of eyes turned to stare at him.

Malik scowled at his shocked companions.  "So I was listening?" he said.  "What?  It's either that or zone out, which usually ends up with me tripping over my feet."

Ryou laughed and promptly slipped on the steep incline.  Kura reached out instinctively and grabbed his hand, catching him before Ryou ended up face down in the dirt.

"I think Ryou wins the clumsy category," Kura told Malik.  He set Ryou on his feet and then turned to Kaiba.  "So when do we eat?"

After dinner everyone settled around the fire and Ryou asked Kaiba if there were any more stories about the gods in a thinly veiled attempt to get Kaiba to tell another story.

"Magus?" Ryou repeated when Kaiba didn't even look up from his journal.

"No, there are not," Kaiba replied, continuing his record of the day's events and how far they had gotten.  The stories were amusing at best and they were still a day behind.  He didn't have the time for amusing.

Kura scowled at Kaiba as Ryou's tentative smile faded.  In Ra's name, how hard was it to take a few minutes to tell a story?  "Of course there are," Kura said to Ryou, "I happened to know one, a favorite of mine.  It's about my patron god."

"Bakura?" Ryou clarified, already enraptured with interest.  "Will you tell me?"

"Yes," Kura said, he wouldn't have mentioned it he hadn't intended to share the story with Ryou.  Kura settled down in front of the fire, laying on his stomach so that the flames sent their flickering shadows over his face.  

Ryou gathered up his bed roll from its place near Malik and spread it out next to Kura before plopping down next to him.

Kura smiled at Ryou's innocent eagerness and closed his eyes, just letting his mine drift to the legend he was about to tell. He could practically hear his mother's voice on the wind, just the way it had sounded when he was younger and had trouble sleeping.  She'd cradle him against her and recite her story, carding her gentle finger through his hair.  And with his eyes closed, Kura could almost pretend that Ryou laying against him was his brother, snuggled close in sleep, while the breathing and movement of the other people around the fire was the baby, noisy in his cradle.  

Still in his trance-like state, Kura rested his head against Ryou's, his hand moving up to Ryou's hair, stroking the soft white strands.  Everything was so still, so mystical.  The wood cackled as it burned, and Kura began.

_The Birth_

_Of Bakura_

_God of Thieves_

_Many years after man's creation, Earth was walking in her forests when she met a woodcutter who was weeping as though his heart was broken.  "Why do you weep?" Earth asked.  "I can see no injury."  _

_The woodcutter explained that he was crying because he and his wife had no children, and they wanted one more than any treasure that they could imagine.  Earth felt the purity of his wish, smiled, and wiped away the woodcutter's tears.  "Come back in nine days," she said, "And I will bring you and your wife a son."  _

_When nine days had passed, the woodcutter and his wife returned to the forest.  Earth was waiting for them with a baby in her arms.  _

_"What is his name?" the woodcutter's wife asked.  But Earth had no name for the child.  "Then we'll call him Bakura," the woodcutter's wife said, "The wished for."_

_Then the couple took Bakura home and he was their son.  Earth would come to visit him at times, and would bring him gifts.  When he was still a baby, his gifts were small; a top to spin in different colors, soap bubbles to hang over his cradle, a moleskin blanket to keep him warm.  When he was five, Earth gave Bakura the gift of languages so that he could converse with the animals.  When he was ten, she gave him the power to summon the lesser gods and goddesses so that he could learn from them.  _

_When Bakura turned fifteen Earth intended to give him the gift of immortality, but the Sky stopped her._

_"Where are you going?" the Sky asked the Earth._

_"To see my son," she said._

_"What son?" the Sky demanded._

_"Mine and the woodcutter's son," the Earth replied, and the Sky became angry.  He went to Bakura's home and destroyed it with thunderbolts while Bakura and his parents ran into the woods where they were hidden by Earth's loyal trees.  The Sky grew angrier and attacked the people who thanked the Earth for her gifts, burning their villages to the ground.  But the Sky left his own people unharmed.  _

_And now the Earth grew angry, shaking with fury and destroying all the people that the Sky had spared.  The people were afraid and prayed and pleaded for rescue, but Earth and the Sky were too angry to hear.  _

_But Horus heard the people's cries and went to his parents.  "Why shouldn't the Earth have what children she pleases?" Horus asked his father.  "Look at the children you have had that are not hers."  And the Sky remembered his stream and river children and saw that they were clogged with debris from his thunderbolts.  _

_Both saw that their people were homeless and scared.  Everything they had was destroyed in the gods' anger at each other.  The Earth and the Sky agreed to stop fighting for the sake of their people.  _

_"The people should not suffer because you are angry with each other," Horus said.  "Give me your thunderbolts, father, and your power to shake the ground, mother.  I will make sure that your fights do not harm the people."  _

_And so Earth gave Horus her power to shake the ground and the Sky promised to hand over this thunderbolts.  The Sky also promised not to harm Bakura, but the Earth was forbidden to grant immortality to any but his children.  _

_The Earth and the Sky were at peace.  The people rebuilt their homes and this time included to alters in every village, one for Earth and one for the Sky.  But in times of great need, it is to Horus that they pray, for him to speak on their behalf to his parents._

A calm silence followed the end of Kura's story, as if the very trees that sheltered them had been listening.

"You sound very different when you're telling a story," Ryou said at last.

Kura very nearly flinched.  He pulled his hand away from Ryou's hair like it had tried to bite him and scowled.  "That's how my mother told me the story," he said.

Ryou smiled at Kura, not at all bothered by Kura's change in attitude.  "I liked it," he said happily.  "Thank you."

"That's enough for tonight," Kaiba said, standing up and snapping his journal shut.  He looked down at Kura.  "Your mother seems to have taken the story and made it her own."

"Of course she did," Malik said cheerfully, "She was a thief."

"I was not telling the story for your enjoyment," Kura snipped.  "If you didn't wish to hear the story, then you should not have listened."  He had told the story because Ryou had asked for it.  He should have known that the others would eavesdrop.

"Enough," Kaiba said again.  "It's late.  We're starting before dawn tomorrow.  I suggest you all get some sleep."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hungry, hungry, hungry, hungryhungeyhungry-"

"Will you _please_ shut up?" Malik practically begged Kura.  "We're all hungry."

"There will be fresh bread for lunch," Kaiba called back to the bickering boys.  "I promise.  So in the meantime, can it!"

A short silence followed.  Then, "How long till lunch?"

"If you hadn't thrown out your breakfast, you wouldn't be hungry," Odion pointed out.

"Hey, I wasn't the only one," Kura said, pointing to the rest of the group.  "You were the only one who could manage to swallow that rock masquerading as bread."  Besides, no one likes a know-it-all.

"I'm eaten worse," Odion replied in a calm and I'm-going-to-force-feed-that-worse-to-you-if-you-don't-shut-up tone.

Several hours passed, emphasized by Kura's complaints and Kaiba's shouts for him to shut up, which did little good.  

When they *finally* stopped outside a small town, Kura was threatening to eat the leather straps on Kaiba's journal.  Now stopped, they made themselves comfortable in the shade while Kaiba went into town to get supplies and horses.

Alas, they didn't stay idle long as Odion decided to make the best of their down time.  He pulled two swords out of the packs and handed one each to Ryou and Malik.  Kura remembered the fencing lesson from the mountain hut and guessed that it hadn't been a dream after all.  

"Swords up," Odion called after the two had warmed up.  Kura lay back against one of the trees and settled in to watch.  

Ryou and Malik sparred carefully and slowly, going through the movements only a little faster than slow motion.  Kura saw that Malik was by far, the better swordsman, but then, he had more training than Ryou and was taller as well.  Malik's form wasn't bad, but Ryou was far more interesting to watch.  He was just learning the motions and with a good instructor he'd one day make a dangerous opponent.  

But right now, Ryou was too small and too new at this sport than to do anything other than wave his sword around and hope it connected.  And he had a bad habit of closing his eyes at the most critical moments.  

As Kura watched from his place against the tree, Malik leaned over Ryou's guard and whacked him soundly on the head with the blunt side of his sword.  Kura winced and began to his to his feet to see if Ryou was hurt.  

"Are you all right?" Malik asked Ryou, lowering his sword.  "I was sure that you would block that."  

"He should have," Odion agreed, motioning for Kura to sit back down.  "Try again."  He had Malik repeat the move, waiting for Ryou to work out a block for himself that would come naturally.  

Ryou got hit twice more and almost hit even more before finally, on about the eighth time, he stepped to the side and blocked Malik's attack there.  

"Good enough," Odion said and ended the lesson.

Malik flopped out flat on his face in the grass and Ryou lay down in the shade by Kura. 

Kura glanced over at Ryou and then leaned over him, looking down at him.  How hard mad Malik hit him?  Ryou opened his eyes when he felt Kura over him and gave him a small, tired smile.  "Hey," Kura said, reaching out and pulling a strand of hair out of Ryou's mouth.  "Want me to go kick the snot out of Malik?"  

Ryou starred up at him for a moment and the dissolved into soft laughter.  "No," he said, "It's quite all right.  I'm not hurt.  Just painfully aware of how much further I have to go."  

Kura snorted and pressed his index finger to Ryou's nose.  "He's just been doing this longer than you.  Against an armed opponent his size, he'd be mincemeat."  

"I heard that," Malik shouted over, his voice slightly muffled by the ground, and Ryou began to laugh.

The air was warm and the grass still green and soft.  Within minutes, all three of the young boys were asleep under the shade of the trees, Odion keeping watch over them.

Kura didn't wake up until he heard Kaiba coming back with food and the horses.  Kura rolled over and shook Ryou awake.  "Food's here," he said, and hopped to his feet, all but running to his meal.

Kaiba hurried everyone to eat fast and then they were off on the trail again, towards their destination.  "Make sure you keep your mouths shut when we're within earshot of other travelers," Kaiba warned Malik and Ryou.  "Your accents give you away as members of upper class of Sounis."  

"Well, Kura doesn't have to worry," Malik sneered.  "Gutter speech is the same, no matter where you go."  To Malik's surprise, Kura simply laughed.  

"I happen to be very proud of my slang and swallowed words," he said.  "Gutter is a highly prized dialect among the best thieves of the world."

Malik rolled his eyes, ignoring Ryou's laughter in the background.  "You're weird," he informed Kura.  

"And you're insane," Kura replied sweetly.  "So what's your point?"  

"Hey, magus?" Ryou said suddenly, "What happens if someone figures out that we're not from Attolia?"  

"Nothing," Kaiba said calmly, dismissing Ryou's concern.  "Traders are always around.  Nothing except war can keep merchants out, and even then that may not stop them.  As long as there is money and people to spend it, traders will do business."  

"And what if they did find out why we are here," Kura asked suspiciously.  

Kiaba gave Kura a sharp look.  "Then they'd arrest us all and turn us over to the queen," he answered curtly.  

But Kura could sense that there was something being unsaid.  "And she would?" Kura prompted.  

"Behead us all," Kaiba finally answered, scowling at Kura.  "Publicly."  Although Odion and Malik seemed unfazed at this revelation, Kaiba obviously hadn't wanted to share it.  And a second later, Kura knew why.

Ryou's hand flew to his chest and he paled alarmingly.  Kura's head snapped around at the odd choking sound Ryou made.  "Breathe," Kura said, risking his life by learning over his horse to grip Ryou's arm.  "Ryou, come on, breathe."  Ryou gasped for air and Kura pulled his horse up against Ryou's and grabbed the smaller boy's face in both hands.  "Breathe," he repeated, keeping Ryou's eyes locked with his.  "Just breathe."  

With Kura acting as his anchor, Ryou's breathing evened out again as his panic subsided.  When Kura felt it safe, he let go of Ryou and settled back into his saddle.  Then he gave Kaiba a fierce glare.  If he had known it was going to scare Ryou like that, why had the bastard said anything?

Kaiba, reading Kura's glare quite accurately, tossed his head and turned his horse back to the trail.  "You're the one who asked," he reminded Kura.  

Kura decided not to comment and settled for rubbing the back of his neck.  He intended to avoid feeling the cold steel of the Attolia queen's sword, at all costs.

TBC

Author's Note"  Remember, reading the book that this is based off may spoil different points in the plot.


	9. The Punishment

The Thief

By The Inspector

Chapter 9

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Disclaimer:  I don't own so don't sue me.  No money being made.  This is what I do for fun.  Sad, I know.

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By the next day, Kura was starting to feel grimy again.  Though it was no where near as bad as it had been in prison, Kura wouldn't say no to a bath.  So when Kaiba found a tranquil part of the river, Kura only complained at little before jumping in.  The water was cold, a fact the he pointed out loudly, but it was refreshing and it was nice to wash off the sweat and dust of the trail.

Kura swam around like a small, white-haired shark, poking the ankles of Malik and Kaiba with a large stick he found and tackling Ryou from behind, dunking him under the water.  He hadn't had so much fun in a long time.

When Kura was done tormenting the other bathers, he got out, redressed, and watched Odion (who had gotten out first) cook breakfast.  When Odion sent him away after he tried to steal a piece of bacon from the grill and scorched his fingers, Kura settled down under the trees and tried to put his hair into some order by combing it through with his fingers.  It didn't work very well and he ended up ripping through the tangles and making a general mess.

"Here," Ryou said, settling down in the grass next to Kura.  He held up a fine comb inlaid with some blue stone.  "Let me."  Ryou waited patiently, smiling, until Kura turned so that Ryou could reach his hair.  Carefully, starting at the bottom, Ryou began to comb through the nest known as Kura's hair.

After a few moments Kura relaxed and sighed, propping his head up with one hand while Ryou worked on his hair.  It was, soothing.  "You're going to be a terrible Duke," Kura grunted.  "You're too nice."

Behind him, Ryou blushed and nodded in guilty agreement.  "Yes, I know," Ryou said with a small, distant smile. 

"Your father knows too!" Malik said, smirking as he skipped out from behind the tree.  He shook his head violently, sending water droplets flying from his wet hair. 

"Stop, Malik," Ryou protested as the drops hit him.  He covered his head with his arm, dropping the comb.  "That's cold!" 

"You're no fun," Malik scowled, twisting the water out of his hair over Ryou's head and making the smaller boy squeal in protest.  Malik laughed and prodded him in the ribs with the toe of his boot, making Ryou wince.  "Pathetic.  You-"  Malik suddenly found himself knocked off his feet and on his back, starring up at a very irritated Kura. 

"Leave him alone," Kura warned, his hair fluffing out like an irate mother cat whose kitten is being tormented. 

Malik rolled to his feet and tossed his damp hair over his shoulder.  "You think you're so high and mighty," Malik said, glaring at Kura, his pride badly bruised.  "Just remember, to the rest of the world, you're trash." 

Kura growled made to go after Malik, but Ryou grabbed onto his shirt and hung on like a leech, preventing him from going anywhere. 

"Please, Kura," Ryou said, looking up at the irritated thief.  "Let him go.  It's not worth it.  He's just trying to make you mad." 

Kura kept glaring at Malik's retreating form and Ryou tugged insistently at his shirt until he sat down with a huff. 

Now Ryou resettled himself behind Kura and picked up the comb from where it had fallen in the grass.  "Tell me a story?" he requested softly as he began to untangle Kura's hair again.  "About Bakura?" 

Kura shook his head helplessly and tilted it back to look at Ryou's hopeful face.  He almost refused the gentle request, but for Ryou's eyes.  Those eyes could get away with murder.   "Fine," Kura agreed, turning back around, "But only because I like to brag about my patron god.  First though," he added, "I want to hear your story.  Since when does a future Duke get apprenticed to anyone?" 

"He's more my tutor than anything," Ryou corrected as he pulled a few leaves out of Kura's hair.  "Before I joined him, I was living at one of my Father's villas.  It's right on the river.  It's very beautiful there.  My mother and sister stayed there with me."  Ryou's eyes grew distant and his hands stilled on Kura's shoulders.

"But," Kura prompted, breaking the boy's trance.  Ryou blinked and sighed

"Then my Father came for a visit and found that I couldn't fence, couldn't ride, and didn't like to go hunting.  To his disgust, I liked to read instead."  Ryou shook his head as through dispelling a bad memory.  "So Father threw my riding instructor, fencing instructor, and tutor out the front gate.  Then he told me that Odion would teach me riding and fencing and I'd stay with him in the city, where he could keep an eye on me." 

"So Odion works for your father then?" Kura asked. 

Ryou nodded.  "Yes, he's the captain of my Father's guard." 

Kura let out a low whistle.  A man's son has to be pretty important to him if he has the captain of his own guard give him lessons and then goes without his captain completely so the son can have a bodyguard.  Ryou's father did care and was trying his best to show it, even if all Ryou wanted was his attention.

"So now I've told you my tale," Ryou said as he began combing the thief's hair again.  But he paused when the boy remained silent.  "Bakura, remember." 

"What?" Kura asked, momentarily dazed.  "Oh right, the story."  Kura thought a bit and tapped his fingers against his chin before deciding to pick up where he had left off and launching into the legend of how Bakura stole The Sky's thunderbolts to give them to Horus, because The Sky always found some excuse not to deliver them to his son. 

Kura was just winding up his story, gesturing with his hands to emphasize a point when a shadow fell over him and Ryou.  Kura looked up and Kaiba threw an empty brown sack at him.  Kura shucked it off and glared at Kaiba, but froze when he saw the fabled horse crop in the magus's hands.  Behind him, Ryou squealed in protest when Odion picked him up and removed him from Kura's reaching distance, just incase the thief was thinking of using Ryou as a shield. 

"I trust you ate well?" Kaiba said, his eyes hard and cold. 

"Not lately," Kura replied flippantly, realizing as he said it that a more diplomatic answer might have been better. 

Kaiba's eyes flashed.  "Hold him," he snapped, twisting the crop in his hands. 

Kura tried to roll out of the way, but Odion was quick and caught his arm in a grip like an iron vice.  Still, Kura was not one to give up and he planted his feet, trying to overbalance the much larger man, but he only ended up with his head locked under Odion's arm.  In one last attempt, Kura grabbed Odion's knee and tried to throw him off, but they both went down and Odion pinned Kura down, pushing his face into the grass and dirt. 

Kura howled and screamed his curses into the ground as Kaiba beat him across the back and shoulders with the crop and tried to heave Odion off with all his strength, but he could not be moved.  Kaiba did not stop until Kura was at last too tired to yell any more and then let Odion release the thief. 

Kura was breathing hard and grabbed onto Odion's shirt in order to pull himself up.  Odion let him, even helped him stand.  On his feet, Kura glared up at the tall soldier and with a wordless snarl, chopped him under the beast bone, causing Odion fall to his knees as he gasped for breath. 

Kura turned around slowly to face Kaiba, his eyes murderous.  He had never been so angry in his life.  Not even in prison had he been this humiliated.  His mouth was so full of poisonous things he wanted to shout, that he couldn't get any of them out.  How dare they treat him like this?  How _dare_ they?! 

Kura took a step towards the magus, not quite sure what he was going to do to him, when Odion grabbed his arm and jerked him back while imposing himself, though still hunched over and breathing painfully, between Kura and Kaiba. 

Kura glared at the magus, his chest rising and falling in sharp jerks.  Then he turned slowly, hearing Kaiba sigh of relief, before he whirled back around and spat in his face.  Kaiba jumped to avoid the spittle, but the point had gotten across. 

Kura stomped back to where his blankets lay in a heap and threw himself down on them, rubbing his face into the cloak before draping it over his head.  He didn't move after that.  Breakfast was made and eaten and the camp packed up, but Kura ignored it all.  When they were at last ready to go, Odion came over and touched Kura lightly on the elbow. 

"Get up," he said very quietly. 

Kura hesitated a moment and then climbed stiffly to his feet.  He couldn't help but notice that Odion stayed out of arm's reach and watched Kura carefully, keeping his weight forward on his toes.  Kura was tempted to make a sudden, sharp move, but decided against it. 

He stomped over to the horses instead, ready to go and leave the place behind.  Ryou was holding Dumb Beast III still, but as Kura approached, Kaiba leapt forward, pulling his apprentice away and holding him against his chest as though Kura were a hungry lion that would maul the pale boy. 

Kura saw Ryou's sad eyes watching his every move and looked away.  He made to get on the horse by himself, ignoring Odion when he came over to help.  Kura hauled himself up onto the beast, snapping the reins sharply to keep from sliding, and the horse threw up her head in surprise. 

Kura took a deep breath and tried to calm his churning rage.  His teeth were clamped so tightly together that the muscles in his jaw twitched like an irregular heart beat.  He took another breath and let it out slowly and reminded himself that he wasn't angry at the horse, this time.  And if he didn't calm down, with his luck the horse would sense it and probably toss him. 

Kura pushed his hair out his eyes and watched Ryou and Malik get on their mounts, his gaze lingering on Ryou.  He wasn't stupid.  He knew that Kaiba and Odion wouldn't let Ryou anywhere near him now, but it was probably for the best.  He was getting too attached to the boy.  He didn't have time for that.  So what if Ryou had been friendly to him despite all warnings from the people he respected?  So what if Ryou was the only one in the group who had seen him as a person?  So what if, had the situation been different, they might have been friends? 

Kura scowled and ran his fingers through his hair, noticing the lack of tangles thanks to Ryou.  There was nothing but his ambition keeping him near Kaiba and his little bunch of overeducated adventures.  He could walk away right now and neither the king's reward or Odion could stop him, but he wanted to be the Kingmaker.  He wanted to be the first one to steal Horus's Gift in hundreds and hundreds of years.  Only he couldn't steal the stupid thing if he didn't know where it was, and only the magus knew the location.  Kura would stay with him until Kaiba led him to the stone, but he promised himself that someday he would shove a sharp knife into the man's arrogance and give it a good twist. 

"We'll probably find some kind of village west of the river," Kaiba said to Odion as the mounted their own animals.  "I think it's our best bet." 

Odion agreed with a simple nod and Kaiba stuffed the map he had been consulting into the bag behind his saddle.  "This way," he instructed, and moved into the trees.  Kura's horse followed obediently, as always. 

As they rode Kura took the opportunity to reflect on his anger.  He'd been so mad that he had managed to frighten Kaiba, even with Odion between them!  He was a bit proud of that.  Not to mention that he had held his tongue.  Saying things that he shouldn't have had been the source of most the painful episodes in his past.  And it was an improvement on his own character if he was gaining control of his own tongue. 

"Are you okay," Ryou whispered from beside Kura.  He kept his eyes on his hands and his voice low, so not to attract Odion's overprotective attention. 

"Yeah, sure," Kura said, waving off Ryou's concern.  Kura shrugged his shoulders and squirmed a little in the saddle.  His back hurt, but it would fade before nightfall.  The horse crop hadn't been heavy enough to break the skin.  After all, Kaiba couldn't afford to disable his thief.  That was a heartening thought, in a grim sort of way. 

They rode for a little while, Kura grumbling violently under his breath very now and then just to see Kaiba and Odion tense up like he was about to attack.  Immature, maybe, but it amused the heck out of him.

Suddenly Kaiba stopped under a tightly clumped group of olive trees, dismounting from his horse and motioning for the others to do the same.  "There is a town close by here," he explained, pointing off into the distance.  "Odion and I will go and get more food."  He turned sternly to Malik, the apprentice snapping to attention.  "Malik, I am leaving you in charge.  For the god's sake, don't take your eyes off the thief."  Kaiba didn't bother to look back at Kura, but Malik took the opportunity to smirk at the disgruntled boy.  Kura had a sudden nagging suspicion that he knew _exactly_ where the missing food had gone.

"I have a name," Kura snapped, noticing the lack of his name, and folded his arms across his chest.  "And I'm not a cow that's prone to wandering!" 

Kaiba just gave him a dirty look and picked up his personal bag with his money, map, and journal.  With Odion giving them all one last warning, the two set off on the trail that followed the river to town.  They left the horses and packs with the three boys and told them to eat what food was left for lunch. 

As they faded into the distance, Ryou opened the bags and took out the last of the bread and some warm, sweaty pieces of cheese.  Kura grabbed the bread right out of his hands and broke off more than half of it before throwing the remainder at Malik. 

"Hey!" Malik protested loudly, starting to get to his feet.  "You can't-" 

"I didn't have any breakfast," Kura snarled, and Malik backed away.  'Apparently,' Kura thought with a small smirk, 'My anger is still effective.  I wonder how long it'll last?' 

All too soon the bread and slippery cheese was gone and the stomachs of three growing boys were anything but satisfied. 

"I'm still hungry," Ryou said mournfully.  Kura couldn't help but notice that lack of proper nutrition made the younger boy look particularly fragile.  Like he was made of porcelain from the Orient or fine glass.

"We could get some fish out of the river," Malik pointed out, snapping his fingers, "Odion has fishing line and hooks in his pack." 

Ryou looked doubtful though and looked over at Kura.  "What do you think?" he asked, his voice brightly hopeful.

"Well, don't expect me to help," Kura said hotly, still in a bad mood.  "I've been hungrier than this before.  The both of you are too spoiled and 'high-classed' to know what real hunger is." 

Ryou looked slightly hurt at Kura's tone, but Malik rolled his eyes.  "I don't think anyone in this world would ever expect you to be helpful, but I'll bet you're not so high and mighty that you'll refuse the fish we catch."  Malik began to paw through Odion's bag.  "The only question now is, what should we do with you?" 

"Well," Ryou said slowly, "I could watch Kura while you fished, Malik." 

Malik's head came up out of the bag to stare incredulously at Ryou until the other boy blushed.  "Yeah right," Malik snorted at last, "If he got up and walked away you wouldn't do anything to stop him." 

"Then you can watch him," Ryou amended, "While I fish." 

Malik actually laughed at that.  "You're terrible at fishing, Ryou," Malik taunted, turning back to digging through the bag.  "No.  What we'll do is tie him up." 

"What?" Ryou squawked at the same time Kura shouted, "No you will not!" 

Malik stood up, a long coil of rope in his hands.  "Now come on, thief," he said as though cajoling a stubborn puppy, "Come here." 

"Like hell!" Kura snapped, rolling to his feet.  "Stay away from me!  You're supposed to be watching me, not going fishing." 

"It's just going to be for a little while," Malik said, stamping his foot like an irritated child. 

"No," Kura said, folding his arms across his chest.  If Malik thought he was going to be willingly tied up, he was more insane than Kura had given him credit for. 

Malik frowned and thought hard for a minute before whirling around and slapping Ryou soundly across the face. 

"Malik!" Ryou whimpered, holding his bright red cheek.  "What was that for?" 

Malik only grinned, noticing how ridged and tense the thief had gone.  "No?" he asked.  Kura remained silent.  Malik shrugged and slapped Ryou again on the other side, causing the small boy to fall to the ground. 

"Malik!" he cried, "Stop!" 

"Stop," Kura hissed, his body shaking in anger.  He came over and picked Ryou up off the ground, noticing the crystal tears clinging to the boy's eyelashes.  All previous intentions of distancing himself from Ryou had evaporated the second Malik had touched him.  How dare Malik pick on someone so much weaker than himself?!  How dare he pick on Ryou!  He wouldn't allow it.  Kura thrust out his wrists.  "I concede." 

Malik grinned, his face flush with victory, and began to tie Kura's wrists together, ordering Ryou tie his ankles. 

"You're tying my hands too tight," Kura complained as Malik pulled the ropes fast.  "Malik, loosen the ropes, they are too tight." 

"Shut up," Malik said in a bored tone as he tied the knots twice.

"I can't feel my fingers," Kura said, trying to convince him, wincing as the rope dug into his skin, "You have to loosen them." 

"Malik," Ryou began timidly, his face still red from Malik's abuse, "Maybe the ropes are too tight." 

"Don't be stupid, Ryou," Malik said with a sniff.  "He's lying.  His hands look fine." 

"They aren't," Kura protested, holding his hands up for Ryou to see.  The pink skin on both sides of the ropes was already puffy, but both Malik and Ryou were looking at his fingers. 

"See," Malik said, throwing his arm around Ryou's shoulders and ignoring how the younger boy shrank away from him uneasily, "His fingers aren't blue." 

"They will be soon," Kura snapped. 

"They will not.  Come on, Ryou."  Malik threw the fishing gear over his shoulder and pulled Ryou away with him. 

Kura struggled with the ropes and wanted to shout for them to come back, but so close to an Attolian town, he was afraid that someone else might hear him.  It only would take one suspicious villager and they would all be locked in a cellar until the queen's guards came to interrogate them.  Kura really had no interest in being publicly beheaded and the ropes weren't so tight that he couldn't stand it for a little while.  And Kaiba and Odion were sure to be back any moment.  So Kura sat quietly under the trees and watched his hands turn blue. 

As it was, Malik and Ryou didn't return from the river until they had seen Odion making his way down the riverbank. 

Kura was lying on his side under the trees, eyes closed, breathing quietly and trying to mentally force blood past the constricting robes.  His hands, held close to his chest, were swollen and mottled a horrid bluish shade.

"Oh no," Ryou breathed, dropping to his knees beside the thief.  "Kura?" he whispered, brushing the boy's long white hair out of his face, pulling a few stray strands out of Kura's mouth. 

"Get the ropes off," Kura hissed.  Malik began tugging at the knots in the rope and the pain for Kura was shocking.  "Be careful!" he shouted. 

But Malik kept jerking the ropes and the knots pulled tighter.  "Stop, stop," Kura insisted.  "Just leave it.  You can cut it off."  Malik ignored him and jerked harder. 

"You're killing me!" Kura howled and Odion rushed into sight. 

Odion pulled Malik away from Kura and looked down at the thief's hands and then at the fish lying forgotten in the dust.  "Go get more fish, both of you," he said sternly. 

Ryou rose tearfully from Kura's side and after a few uncertain steps backwards, hurried off after Malik.  When they were gone, Odion set about carefully removing the ropes. 

Kura didn't even bother to whimper suggestively.  He simply lay quietly while Odion cut the ropes away, hissing when he pulled them away from the skin where they were stuck.  Odion began to straighten Kura's curled fingers, but the thief pulled away.  "Don't," Kura said. 

"They've got to be flexed," Odion said, "The blood has pooled." 

"I know," Kura answered, take a few deep breaths, "But I'll do it myself.  I promise."  Odion looked at the thief for a moment and then nodded.  "Where's the magus?" Kura asked now as he slowly began to straighten his cold fingers. 

"He sent me ahead with some of the food.  And it's a good thing."  Odion paused to look over his shoulder to the river and then turned back to Kura.  "He doesn't need to know about this." 

"Oh yes, he does," Kura hissed.  By this time he wanted to see Malik flayed alive and then boiled into a pudding before being buried in a mass _horse_ grave. 

"No," Odion repeated, "He doesn't."  He crouched down a little more so that for the first time, he and Kura were speaking eye to eye.  "The Magus has staked his reputation and life on finding this silly stone, and he'll murder the person who prevents him from getting it.  And that person is not-" he shook his finger in front of Kura's face, "Going to be Ryou.  His father sent me to make sure he's safe and that he learns something on this trip.  But I do not want him to learn what happens when you ruin the plans of a man like the magus." 

Kura opened his mouth to protest and then shut it when he could not find the right words.  There was no way to get Malik punished without dragging Ryou into it.  And despite his better judgment, he kind of liked his timid, soft look-a-like.  "Agreed," Kura finally said, turning his face away. 

Odion got up and pulled the relief kit out of his pack and brought back the bandages and salve the Kura remembered from the first night on the journey along with a small paper packet of dried berries.  "Chew two of these," Odion said, placing two of the berries in Kura's shaky hand, "They'll help with the pain.  We'll just tell the magus that the old sores got infected." 

Kura popped the berries into his mouth, trying to move his hands as little as possible and starred down the tail.  "How long have I got, Odion?" he asked quietly. 

"Till what?" 

"Till we get to where we're going." 

Odion frowned and shook his head.  "How would I know?" 

"You know how much food the magus bought." 

Odion nodded and thought for a moment before replying.  "Two more days."

.

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TBC

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	10. The Dystopia

The Thief

By The Inspector

Chapter 10

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Disclaimer:  I don't own anything.  I don't make anything.  Don't sue me!  Thanks so much for your understanding.

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When Kaiba got back with the rest of the food he accepted Odion's story about Kura's wrists without question or suspicion.  He seemed only concerned that Kura's hands would be functional, which Odion assured him they would be.  Somehow, that only served to annoy Kura more.

Malik jabbed Ryou in the ribs when he heard what Odion said, taking it to mean that he was right that the ropes weren't too tight.  But Ryou was visibly relieved and looked close to tears, again.  When they got back on the trail, Ryou pulled his horse up alongside Kura's and gave him a very pretty apology.  Kura rolled his eyes, told him to shut up, and watched him blush. 

Ryou stayed at his side though despite Kura's attitude, and Odion didn't say a word about it.  Kura took it as the man's way of thanking him for keeping his mouth shut.

The groves of olives changed as they moved further into the country.  Rather than the tightly packed rows there were gaps like an old man's teeth between the trunks.  The irrigation ditches began to show signs of neglect before they were choked out of existence all together by weeds and silt.  Before long, it was obvious that the area they were entering had been let go completely wild. 

"Doesn't anyone harvest these olives?" Ryou asked as he watched his horse step on the old rotted fruit in the grass. 

"No anymore," Kaiba called back over his shoulder.  "Since the plague there haven't been enough people in Attolia to harvest all these trees.  The town where we just bought more provisions was very likely responsible for this part of the Sea of Olives at one time.  However, there are only five or six families living in the town now and they only take care of the groves nearest them." 

"Ah, the plague," Malik said fondly as if discussing the pleasant summer weather.  "Traveled piggyback on the trading ships across the Middle Sea.  Then it seeped into the lowlands and killed off entire families." 

"Eddis closed her passes during the plague thirty years ago and then again during the small reoccurrence about a decade ago," Kura added.  "My grandfather was a young man back in the first one.  He said that no thief, no matter what the bounty, would touch the possessions of a plague victim.  Everything was burned.  I heard that the plague thirty years ago killed at least half of the people in Sounis." 

"The thief knows his history," Kaiba remarked dryly.  "Yes, it's true." 

"Then are there places like this in Sounis?" Ryou asked, "Where there aren't enough people to farm the land?" 

"Not many," Kaiba answered.  "Sounis is a smaller country than Attolia and so has already accumulated a surplus population again while the Attolia is sparsely spread out.  The few abandoned farms, like the one that we stayed at before starting up the mountain, are mostly a result from the second wave of the plague that Kura mentioned." 

Kaiba's eyes got distant, as though he wasn't staying actively in the here and now.  Like he was remembering something painful from the past.  "The family at that farm was killed by the second plague all except for one who was away in the city at the time, studying to get an education." 

Kura wasn't stupid, he knew when one was discussing their own history.  He remembered the names on the stones at the abandoned house and for once felt slightly sorry for the magus.  He had lost his whole family to the plague.  He must have been very young then when he was orphaned suddenly.  His mother, father, and…little brother.  They were all he had.  And then they were ripped away from him. 

Kura had a lot of relatives, and most were nothing but a pain in his backside, but if there hadn't been at least one he had cared about, he would never have landed himself in the king's Prison.  Maybe then, it was better to have them all than none at all.  Heh, it was the first generous thought he'd ever had about several of his cousins. 

"I'm astonished, Kura," Kaiba said, breaking into Kura's self discovery, his own thoughts back to the present, "You are thinking about something.  I must admit that I am curious to know what it is." 

"I have an overabundance of relatives," Kura told him, ignoring the magus's jab at his intelligence, "And I wonder if I am better off than you to have them all rather than none at all." 

"You could be," Kaiba replied and shook his head before urging his horse forward from where it had dropped beside Kura's. 

After a while Ryou starting talking again.  He could rarely be kept quiet for long.  "If there aren't enough people in the village, why don't people move into there from somewhere else?" 

"Where else?" Kaiba asked. 

Ryou hesitated a moment before timidly suggesting, "The rest of Attolia?" 

"They're dead too, stupid," Malik answered, and Kaiba winced at the lack of tact from his senior apprentice.

"The plague thinned out the population across all of Attolia," Kaiba explained, using more grace than Malik.  "There are very few surplus people anywhere in the country.  Even the cities are not crowded." 

"Then they could come from Sounis," Ryou suggested.  THAT, Kura realized, was exactly what King Yami had in mind. 

"That would be considered an invasion," Kura reminded them in a challenging tone.  He doubted the Attolians would sit still and just watch it happen.

"So?" Malik shrugged. 

"So," Kura growled, rolling his eyes, "The people of Attolia might object." 

"That won't matter," Kaiba said, waving off Kura's observation as though it were as insignificant to the scheme of things. 

"It _will_ matter to the Attolians," Kura muttered under his breath.  But he doubted anyone cared.

------

It took the whole day to reach the edge of the Sea of Olives.  The little group of travelers moved out of the trees just as the sun began to set.  The mountains that had been hidden by the trees were black against the brilliant dusk colors and Kura was happy to see them.  They were a familiar marker in an unfamiliar place.

Ahead of them stretched a bleak expanse of black earth that few brushes grew on, and no trees whatsoever.

"What happened here?" Ryou asked, his eyes wide as he scanned the horizon.  "It looks like there was a really bad fire."

"Not exactly," Kaiba corrected him, "It's the dystopia."  He halted the horse and glanced at the empty wasteland and the darkening sky.  "We'll rest here for the night," he announced.

Kaiba explained while Odion cooked dinner that the dystopia was the remains of the volcanic rock that had poured out of the mountains thousands of years before.  As a result, the earth was rich with minerals but too hard to allow for plants to take root and grow.

"There is, of course, a myth to explain it," Kaiba said, covering a yawn and rubbing his hands through his hair.  "But I am too tired to even listen to Kura tell it, no matter how interesting.  So I will just say that Bakura tried to use the thunderbolts he stole from the Sky and started a fire that burned the ground."

"He killed his brother," Kura said sleepily from where he was already lying on his blankets.

"Hmm?  What was that Kura?" Kaiba asked.

"His parents, his mortal parents, finally had children and Bakura killed his brother by accident in the fire.  That's when Shadi saved him and Horus gave him his gift to reward him for saving Bakura because Horus was fond of him."

"And now we know the whole story," Malik concluded and they all went to sleep without another word.

Kura had a strange dream that night of a woman dressed all in white and woke just as the moon was setting behind the olive trees.  Kura rolled over onto his back, and then onto his stomach, and then onto his side, but he couldn't get comfortable and finally just sat up.

Odion was on watch, making sure that no one snuck up on the little party during the night.  Kura was glad it was Odion and not one of the others.  If it had been Kaiba, he would have told Kura to lie down and go back to sleep.  Ryou would have wanted to talk, and he simply didn't like Malik, but Odion just watched him from across the flickering embers of the fire without a word.

After a few idle minutes, Kura stood up and paced a little back and forth, using his stretching exercises to loosen the muscles in his back.  There were a few sore spots on him left from the magus's beating, but it was the throbbing pain in his wrists that bothered him.

Kura cursed Malik fiercely under his breath and crossed over the fire to sit down near Odion.  They stayed quiet for a few moments, Kura picking at the grass and gathering it into a small pile.  "Those berries you gave me…" Kura said finally.

"The ossil," Odion confirmed, turning to look at Kura.

Kura shifted uneasily under his sharp gaze.  "Do you have any more?" he asked.  He sincerely hoped that Odion wouldn't hold anything that happened earlier against him, leaving him to suffer.

But Odion pulled the relief kit out of his pack and poured a handful of the berries into his palm before transferring two into Kura's hand.  "Just two at a time," Odion reminded Kura.

"Be blessed in your endeavors," Kura thanked Odion automatically and popped the berries into his mouth and went to lie down on his blankets.  Ryou turned over in his sleep and moved closer to his back to take advantage of his body heat.  Kura let him, smiling just a little, and continued to flex his hands in training exercise until he finally fell asleep.

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The magus stupidly took fate into his own hands then next morning and left Malik, Ryou, and Kura alone again.  He thought he had glimpsed a fire between the trees during the night and he wanted to make sure that they would be unobserved as they traveled across the dystopia.

Before Kaiba and Odion left, Odion handed Malik and Ryou their wooden swords and told them to practice and do absolutely nothing else.  Malik played dumb and pretended not to understand, but Ryou nodded his head earnestly and glanced guiltily back at Kura.  They were both stretching when Odion and Kaiba disappeared from sight between the trees.

As soon as they were gone, Malik turned to Ryou and jabbed him in the ribs with his sword.  "Oh guard," he teased, dancing around Ryou, sword at ready.

"I haven't finished my stretching exercises," Ryou protested.

Malik rolled his eyes.  "Forget them," he said, "You'll warm up as we go."

So Ryou put his sword into guard position and they began circling each other.  Kura watched from where he lay under a tree with his head propped up against a saddle.  He was perfectly content to just sit and do nothing while the magus chased phantoms of his paranoid imagination.

Right away, Malik struck over the top of Ryou's guard, but Ryou remembered his last lesson and stepped to the side to block it.  He did forget, however, to follow through with his own attack after he blocked Malik's and by the time he remembered, the opening in Malik's guard was closed.

"Good block," Malik said, not bothering to hide his surprise that Ryou had recalled it, and he swung again.  Ryou managed to block it too, but he had underestimated the force of the blow and he had to back up to regain his balance.

While Ryou retreated, Malik pushed in and whacked him in the ribs.  Ryou brought his elbow down to cover too late, as if an arm would have stopped anything besides a wooden sword.  Even their training swords in their packs would have taken a nice piece out of his arm.

Malik managed to hit Ryou's elbow as he pulled his sword back and Ryou yelped like a kicked puppy, but Malik pretended not to hear.  He rushed Ryou again and in the guise of fencing practice with Kura didn't dare interrupt in case Kaiba was feeling punish-the-thief-happy, began to give the smaller boy a series of bruises that he wouldn't forget for a month.

Not able to stop the lesson, Kura was reduced to calling advice from the side lines.

"Look," Kura called to Ryou as he and Malik disengaged, "Every time he tries to ride over the top of your guard, he leaves his right side open.  Just step to the left and block his attack and then counter immediately to his rib cage."  Kura had no idea where Odion got the patience to watch Ryou take a beating.  He, for one, wasn't going to see Ryou turn black and blue before he figured it out for himself.

"I'm sorry," Ryou said humbly.  He was standing with his shoulders slumped, rubbing a sore elbow.  He shook his head and dropped his sword into the dirt in defeat.  "I'm just not fast enough.  You're a much better swordsman, Malik."

Malik smirked and shrugged as if to say, "But of course," and Ryou blushed in shame.  Kura snorted and rolled to his feet.

"All it shows," Kura said, folding his arms across his chest, "Is that Malik is a few inches taller than you and has a longer sword arm and sword to match."

Malik's smug look was gone as he turned to the thief and his eyes were cold.  "What do you know about sword fighting, Kura?" he snapped.

"I know that your guard is terrible," Kura snarled.  "And I know that any opponent your size would cut you to pieces like a hog for slaughtering."

"Do you mean yourself as this 'opponent' that you speak of?" Malik hissed.

"I'm not your size," Kura sniffed.  He didn't bother to mention that Malik's and his own skill levels weren't the same.

"Ha," Malik laughed triumphantly, "Coward!"

"Malik," Ryou pleaded, tugging on his shirt, "Don't."

"Shut up, Ryou," Malik snapped.  "Gutter scum should fight his own battles for once."

"No," Kura said.  "Gutter scum gets drafted into the infantry and fights for a worthless king while hangers-on like you watch."

"Kura," Ryou protested, dropping his hold on Malik's shirt.  "That's treasonous."

"Do I care?" Kura growled.

"Surprised, Ryou?"  Malik's contempt made Ryou squirm.  "His kind only serve themselves."

With a snarl, Kura launched himself at Malik and they both went down, Kura landing on top.  Kura got in one good hit when suddenly he found himself being hauled off Malik by the scruff of his shirt like a disobedient pet.

Kura snarled wordlessly at Odion and was dropped on his ass near Ryou's feet.  Malik sat up and wiped his bloody nose with the back of his hand, his eyes furious.  But he was not so stupid as to try to get Kura by going through Odion.  Instead he turned away and stomped off, humiliated, to sulk and Kura resettled by the saddle just in time for Kaiba to come back.  Odion had not trusted them enough to come back right away with the magus.  Smart man.

"No unpleasantness, I trust?" Kaiba said, laying down his pack.  No one bothered to answer him.

-------

After a quick lunch, the horses were tied up to the trees and everyone headed out onto the dystopia on foot.  Kura for one was glad to leave the stupid horses behind.  Malik walked as far away from Kura as he could and glared at him every chance he got.

There was no trail to follow across the dystopia and the group simply followed Kaiba who followed the directions of his compass.  Everyone had to carry water, even Kura, because there was no flowing water in the dystopia and in the open summer sun they were sure to need it.

Crossing the dystopia made Kura feel like a bug caught out in the open.  Or a very small mouse under a hawk's sharp gaze.  His upbringing was making itself know and he longed to have more of the sky shut out.  The mountains rising in sheer cliffs on his left seemed to shut him out rather than enclose him.  He had been a lot more comfortable in the trees in the Sea of Olives.

By evening they met up with the Seshmu River again and trees started springing up and the earth lightened in color as they moved away from the dark volcanic soil.  Kura tried to ignore the world stretching out forever behind his back.  Every once in a while, there would be a shallow waterfall that they had to climb over or around and they soon were walking on the sand beside the River.

As the sun began to set, the group hiked around a curve and came to a large waterfall two or three times Kura's height.  The river was closed in on the side opposite them by bluffs.  Their side the riverbank was practically flat.

"This is it," Kaiba said, dropping his back onto the sand.

"This is what?" Kura asked, looking around for something special about the area.

"This is where you earn your reputation," Kaiba said seriously.  His face was grim and it didn't reassure Kura in the slightest.

With this new information to process, Kura looked around the empty rock, river, and sandy soil that crunched under foot with a critical eye.  As far as he could see, there was nothing to steal.  Nothing at all.

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TBC

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Author's Note:  Answering Questions and Such

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Amarin Rose, I have actually been restraining myself from letting this story contain a Kura(who is Bakura)/Ryou pairing.  If left to my own devices, I would let them become slightly romantically involved, but I think some of the current readers wouldn't appreciate it.  It's a real dilemma.  Do I write it the way I want, or bow to those who don't like boy/boy pairings.  Heh, that alone makes me want to write it more.  Well, we'll see.

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The Inspector

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	11. The Maze

The Thief

By The Inspector

Chapter 11

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Disclaimer:  You know I don't own anything here.  Why do you keep asking?  Oh well, I'll say it again.  I don't own, I don't make money, don't sue me.  This is all for fun.  Thanks.

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Author's Note:  As you can see from the summary change, I have decided to go with my instinct and allow myself a little Bakura/Ryou.  But do not worry, I'm not going to change the style I've been writing this and suddenly have them all over each other.  Not even a kiss until the last chapter.

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"We will have to wait until midnight," Kaiba said, motioning for everyone to unload their burden.  "So we might as well eat now."

Kura sat in the sand while Odion began to prepare dinner and Ryou scampered around looking for enough dry wood to burn.  He didn't bother himself to help either of them, he had more pressing issues on his mind.  He thought of asking Kaiba what exactly they were up to out in the middle of nowhere, but they weren't on good enough speaking terms for Kura to bring himself to say anything.  So he took a nap instead.

The dream he had had the other night returned.  In his dream, Kura walked up cold stone steps to a small room with white marble walls.  There were no windows, but moonlight came in from somewhere and illuminated the woman waiting there.  She was wearing a long linen dress that fell like water to the floor.  Her face kept shifting in and out of form and Kura couldn't get a good enough look at her, though he felt as though he should know her.

"Who brings you here?" the woman asked as Kura stepped into the room.  Her voice rumbled like the purr of a large cat.

"I bring myself," Kura replied.

She leaned over the table and looked at Kura, her eyes turning from brown to yellow and back as she inspected him.  "Do you come to offer or to take?"

Kura licked his lips, finding his mouth suddenly dry.  "To take," he whispered.

The woman smiled, her sharp teeth flashing in the silver light, and she opened a scroll to add Kura's name to a long list.  After a moment, she added a little mark next to his name.  "We shall see," she said.

Kura woke a moment later and was pleased to find that Odion had dinner ready.

Dinner was eaten by the light of the moon and then everyone sat around waiting for midnight to come.  Even Ryou was uncharacteristically in an untalkative mood.  Finally Kaiba asked Kura to tell them the story of Bakura and the Thunderbolts, but Kura refused.

"Bakura gains his immortality, but loses his brother," Kura said sourly, "He wins the prize and as a result his brother dies.  Shadi receives his gift, a river stone dipped in the waters of immortality, but at the cost of others.  Bakura steals the thunderbolts to show off, and he becomes permanently scared."  Kura ran his fingers over the side of his face, close to his eye.  "Here.  He burns the land and causes the Earth and Sky to argue again.  It is a tale about the consequences of getting what you want and I don't like it."  Kura turned away in a huff and silence regained the camp.

"Did you know," Kura said suddenly to Kaiba, "That when you think someone is very intelligent, you say he is clever enough to steal Horus's Gift?"

Kaiba shrugged.  "No, I didn't," he replied.  "Is it just said among your mother's people?"

Kura shook his head, the ends of his hair whipping him in the face.  "I don't know," he said, "But I do know what happened if you tried to steal Horus's Gift and were caught."

"I don't know what happens," Kaiba admitted, surprised at the gap in his extensive knowledge.  But he didn't seem surprised that Kura knew.  If there is one thing that most thieves keep track of it is crimes and the punishments dolled out for them.

"They threw you off the mountain," Kura said.  Malik snickered, but Kura failed to find it humorous when he was about to try to steal the dammed thing.

"Maybe that's why your mother left Eddis," Kaiba teased, trying to lift Kura's gloomy mood.  Kura figured that he had either gotten over his anger at him, or was pretending that he had for the sake of retrieving the stone.

"No," Kura stressed, "Not thrown as into exile."  He dropped his hand in a long arc to show someone falling a great distance before they went 'splat'.  "Threw as in _over the edge of the mountain_."

Malik winced loudly and turned slightly green.  "Remind me never to visit Eddis," he said shuddering.

Everyone fell silent again.  All that could be heard was the sounds of the river and the snapping of the wood in the fire.  A good quarter of an hour passed, and then they heard the sound that Kaiba had been waiting for.

It was a change in the wash of the river behind them.  Kaiba stood up to look, Kura right on his heals.  As they watched, the river disappeared.  The water flow stopped like a giant tap had been turned off by the gods themselves and the night echoed with the silence left behind by the river.

Kura stood shocked with his mouth hanging open for a long time as he realized that the phenomenon was caused by a reservoir and the water of the river flowed through a sluice in its dam.  At the end of the summer, if the water in the reservoir was too low, then the sluice gate was closed and the river and waterfall literally disappeared.  Kura shook his head in dumb wonder.

In the rock where the waterfall had been, there was a recessed doorway.  The lintel of the doorway was the rock itself, but set into it were two granite pillars.  Between the pillars was a door pierced by narrow slits that were wider in their middles and narrower at the ends.  The river water still sprayed through the slits and dropped into the round pool that remained in the basin below.

"I wanted to get here a day early, to give you a chance to rest," Kaiba said, "But you moved so slow, that is now not possible.  The water will begin to flow again just before dawn.  You have to get out before that, as I believe the temple will flood quickly.  I assume that you will need these."  He pulled a soft piece of leather out of his pack and handed it to Kura.

Kura unwrapped the leather and recognized the tools of his trade.  In fact…  "These are mine."

"Yes," Kaiba said, "They are the ones that were taken from you when you were arrested.  Not being a thief, I didn't know how to otherwise equip you properly."

Kura's stomach gave a great leap as though he had swallowed a live frog.  "You already knew then?" Kura asked.

"Oh yes," Kaiba smirked, "The man you bragged to in the wineshop about your talents in thievery was an agent of mine.  Not your casual informer."

Kura whistled soundlessly as he thought of the twists in this tale.  Then he forced his mind back to the task at hand.  "I need a light."

"Odion has one for you."

Kura looked behind him and saw Odion standing with a lamp in his hand.  He gave it to Kura saying, "That's six hours of oil."

"Do you have a pry bar?" Kura asked.  It was the only thing he didn't habitually carry with the rest of his tools because it was too big and heavy.  Odion did have one and went back to his pack to fetch it while Kura waked down to the edge of the riverbank.

Standing in the remaining water that came up to his ankles, Kura turned his gaze away from the door to ask Kaiba, "Do you know if anyone has tried this before?"

Kaiba nodded.  "I believe several attempts have been made," he said.

"And?" Kura prompted.

"No one came back."

"From inside?"

Kaiba shook his head.  "At all.  No one who has been inside has returned; no member of any party where someone when inside has ever returned either.  I don't know how it might happen, but if you fail, we are all lost together."  He smiled and waved one hand in a vague benediction.

"If my calculations are correct," Kaiba told Kura, "The water will stop for four nights in a row this year, and this is the second of them.  Don't get yourself drowned on the first try."

Kura waited until Kaiba and Odion had disappeared back to the fire where Malik was poking the embers with a long stick before he started forward.  He hadn't taken more than a few steps when he heard someone sloshing through the water after him.

Kura turned and lifted the lamp.  The yellow light practically reflected off Ryou's silvery white hair and made him look almost ethereal.

Ryou hurried through the water, casting nervous glances back at the camp.  "Here."  Ryou took Kura's hand and placed something in it.  He smiled.  "For luck."

Kura watched Ryou dash back to camp and opened his hand.  In it was a gold chain with a small lapis charm caught in the middle.  A common symbol of luck among the people of Sounis.  Bakura smirked.  Stupid superstitions.  He put Ryou's good luck charm over his head and shook his hair free.

Now, to business.  The remaining water of the river was chilly and Kura splashed through it as quickly as he could to the entrance of the temple.

Kura stood before the door and examined it with a sharp eye.  It was completely made of stone right down to the hinges.  It was a smart move by the craftsman.  Wood would have rotten and metal would have been worn away by time and the water.  It would take stone a great deal longer.  But there was no lock on the great doors.

Kura pushed against the doors, pushing not only against the weight of the door, but the weight of the water remaining behind it.

As Kura began to push the door open, he muttered a quick prayer to the god of thieves, his namesake.  It was a superstition his grandfather had ingrained in him.  Send up a prayer as you start your work and send up a prayer as you finish it, and leave a gift once a month on the alter of Bakura.  Personally, Kura liked to leave earrings.  His grandfather had left cloak pins.

Finally the door swung inward and more water rushed out.  Kura moved inside and the heavy door swung closed behind him.  He was soaked up to his waist, but the water on the stairs behind the doors was only three or four inches deep.

Kura scurried down the stairs and found himself in a small chamber.  Examining the room, Kura realized it would be the first to fill when the river came back.  Genius, really.  And at least five hundred years old.

Across the room was another door, stone like the first, with a simple latch lock.  The bars on the lower half of the door allowed the latch to be lifted from either side of the door and so Kura let it also swing shut behind him. 

The corridor on the other side stretched in two directions and both were so narrow that Kura's shoulders brushed against the walls.  Walls of solid irregularly jagged rock.  Each tunnel ran ten feet before ending in a metal door with metal locks, unrusted and damaged by water and time.

The locks on the doors were complicated and it took Kura several minutes to get the door on the right open.  Beyond the door was another corridor that ended in a door similar to the one Kura held open.

With a suffering sigh, Kura hunted around for something besides his foot to prop the door open.  He really didn't want to waste his time to reopen it later when he was ready to get out.

There were no loose stones in the tunnel and Kura was loath to leave either his tool bag or pry bar behind to keep the door open.  Finally, he removed one of his shoes.  They were soaking wet and uncomfortably heavy anyway.

Kura wedged one of his shoes under the door so that it wouldn't shut and relock behind him, and tucked the other in his belt incase he should need it later.

Barefoot, Kura stepped down the corridor through the few inches of water that remained in the temple.

The thief was only halfway down the corridor when the lamplight revealed something incredibly noteworthy about the far door.  It's surface was completely smooth.  There was no way to open the door from his side.

"Gods," Kura said aloud, "Oh gods."  He whirled around to the door behind him just in time to see the water push his shoe out from beneath the door and the door begin to swing closed.

Kura leapt-four giant steps-and threw himself face forward towards the closing door and slipped his fingers on his left hand into the jamb.  The metal door bit into his fingers, making him wince, but he left them there until he could slip his other hand into the opening and force it back open.

Now Kura observed the inside of this door and found that it too was completely smooth.  He had almost gotten himself trapped in a lockless corridor.

Quickly, Kura fled through the door and sat down with a great sigh of relief.  As he sucked his injured fingers, he gave thought as what to do next.

First, he refused to go back to camp right now and tell Kaiba that he had almost gotten himself irretrievably stuck before he even reached the inner temple.  Not that his death would have been immediate, had he been trapped.  He wouldn't have died until morning when the river returned.

But there was no point in exploring the door without better means of keeping it open.  So Kura decided to check the left door before he felt that he had waited enough time to return to camp.

Kura had lost the lamp, pry bar, and one of his shoes beyond the other door, but he didn't need a light to work by, he was used to working without it.  Still, there was a nice dent across his first two fingers on his right hand and the tips felt numb.  This made it difficult for him to open the lock, but he managed.

Once Kura had the door open, he carefully checked for a keyhole on the other side.  Even then, he made sure that the keyhole he felt was real and not a blind hole drilled to deceive him.  Only once he was sure it was real did he wedge his remaining shoe in the door opening and cross the threshold.

Everything was dark behind the door and without the lamp, Kura didn't know if this corridor ended the same as the last.

Kura dug his hands into the pockets of his trousers.  One pocket had filled with water at one point and was soaked; the other was still fairly dry.  Both had matches in them.  Kura had picked up a package of sulfur matches at the inn the first night on the road and another six matches on the second night.  The ones he made taken from Odion were wrapped in a scrap of oil paper and untouched by the water.

In his dry pocket, Kura also had a small knife with a folding blade that had belonged to the man sitting next to him at lunch one day, several pieces of leather thong, one longer piece of cotton twine, and the decorative pin Kaiba used to hook his cloak.  He thought he had dropped it before his last bath, stupid man.

In the wet pocket were miscellaneous coins, two now moist pieces of dried beef, and Malik's comb.  Kura idly wondered if he'd noticed that it was missing yet.

Kura put one of the pieces of beef in his mouth and chewed it while he pulled a match out of the oil paper and it lit.

Before him was another corridor of solid rock with another metal door at the end.  Kura made his way forward into the corridor.  When the match burned down to his fingers, be blew it out and continued in the dark.

The door at the end of the corridor was locked.  Kura opened it, checked again for a keyhole, and let it close behind him.  The floor in this corridor was uneven and he stubbed his toe once and placed his feet more carefully after. 

Kura brushed his hands across the stone on his right side and touched something cold, hard, and completely smooth.  Kura stopped and felt the corridor's side more carefully and lit a match to see what he had found.

It was Horusial Glass, obsidian, formed from quickly hardening molten lava rock.  In ancient times it had been used for points on arrows and spears, and it was still used in jewelry and for the blades of decorative knives.  The piece Kura had found in the wall was very large.  It started a little above the floor and reached over Kura's head.  It would have been very valuable if he'd had a way of prying it out of the wall to take home.

Kura walked on and lit another match, only to find himself at another intersection of corridors.

Kura walked through corridors all night, a maze hallowed out in the stone bluff.  At one point, he ended back up at the other end of the trap he had almost fallen into.  He lit a match, he only had seven left, and saw his pry bar and lamp laying on the floor where he had thrown them in his haste to stop the door from closing on him.

Holding the door open with his foot-it was heavy and pinched the skin-Kura pulled off his overshirt and wedged it firmly beneath the door.  Then he pulled off his other shirt and added it to the pile, just in case.

Then, half naked and shivering in the cold air, Kura hurried into the trap and picked up his lost possessions (though no sign of his shoe) and scampered out again.  Safe.

Some of the oil had spilled from the lamp, but there was plenty left.  Kura lit it with one of his remaining matches and continued his exploration of the maze.

Personally, Kura wasn't sure what to make of the maze.  It was unlike any temple he had ever seen.  There was no alter, no places for offerings to be made, no statues of the gods, and no treasure room to store the valuable offerings.  Kura would have sworn that the magus had been duped, if not for one thing.

At the back of the maze, farthest from the entrance, was a wider corridor, more finished than any of the others.  It's floor was canted on one side and was the lowest point of the maze.  The water that remained there was several inches deep, but not deep enough to cover all the bones that had settled there over the years and remained undisturbed as the Seshmu River drained away.

There were skulls worn thin as eggshells, longer bones like thighbones, and smaller curved ribs that poked one end out of the dark water.  'How long,' Kura wondered morosely, "Does it take bones to dissolve?  Fifty years?  One hundred years?  How long have these bones been here and how many have disappeared before them?'

Kura trailed his fingers in the water and shivered at the cold.  How could so many people have come searching without leaving a record?  How could Horus's Gift have remained lost if so many knew to look for it in this place?

The light of Kura's lamp reflected off the water and he could see some of the smaller bones still hidden beneath the water, still arranged in the ghostly shape of a hand.  He muttered a quick prayer for the souls of the dead thieves that had come before him and returned to the maze.

Kura wandered back to the corridor with the huge piece of obsidian, pausing to inspect it and thought of the hundreds of earrings, pendants, brooches, and spearpoints it would make.  And then, the water started coming in.

The flame of Kura's lamp sputtered at the sudden increase of water and he remembered that time was a crucial element in this game.  Odion had given him six hours of oil, but he had wandered around by match light for a long time.  How much time did he have left?

Kura did a quick about face and headed for the exit, careful to keep his breathing even.  Panic could make you do some stupid stuff and he did not want to end up in the trap by sheer stupidity.

Forcing himself not to panic, Kura hurried to get the lock open.  Behind the door was a rising puddle that signaled the river's return.  Kura ran to the next door, haste pushing him on ahead faster.  Just ahead of him was the door he had held open with his shoe.  Said shoe now pushed free by the water.

Kura unlocked the door and had to jump back to avoid being hit in the face by the door and the water surged in, pushing him backwards.  Kura swung his arms for balance and fell back on his ass, the water coming up to his chest.

Scrambling to his feet, Kura hurried out the door and rushed to the last one.  His wet hair whipped around his face as he pushed on the door, trying to force it open.  The water against it made it hard and his arms ached with the strain.  Finally it cracked open just enough for him to slip through and the door slammed shut with enough force to break bones.

Kura waded towards the shore, his clothes soaked.  He didn't want to even think of how undignified he must look to the other campers.  If they were awake.  There was no sun in the sky yet, though the world rested in a twilight gray.  In an hour it would be dawn.

"Kura!"

Kura barely heard the high-pitched cry before he was hit in the chest with a slightly frantic, squirmy bundle of Ryou.  He had to take a step back to regain his balance and keep from dragging both of them under the water.

"I was so worried," Ryou squealed, clinging to Kura's neck.

"Hey, I'm a professional," Kura said as he led Ryou out of the water.  "There's no need to worry.  I know what I'm doing."  He decided to not tell Ryou about almost getting stuck in the trap.

Kura fumbled for the chain around his neck.  "Here, this is yours," he said, trying to get Ryou's charm untangled from his hair, but Ryou stopped him.

"Keep it until we're home," Ryou said with a small smile.  "You can use the luck."

"Did you get it!?" Kaiba called from the bank.

Kura shook his head and sloshed up the bank, still supporting Ryou.  "No," he said, very sullen and slightly embarrassed.  "I couldn't find it.  I couldn't find anything."  Nothing but huge pieces of obsidian.  "No alter, no treasure room, nothing but a maze of corridors."

Ryou went off to find dry clothes while Kura described the maze to Kaiba.  "I haven't given up, though," Kura said when he saw look Kaiba gave him.  "I still have two more nights."

Ryou came back a few minutes later, dressed in dry clothes and with a set for Kura.  Odion was with him, having been woken up when the boy was searching for something to wear.

Now awake, Odion set about making an early breakfast.  Kura scarfed down food his food in record speed and refused the coffee Ryou helped make.  No matter how cute he was, Ryou's coffee was like mud and there was no way he was going to drink it.

Kura lay down after he ate, throwing his cloak over his head to keep out the morning light.  He knew that he'd need as much rest as he could get to be ready for another night of the maze.  He fell asleep just as the sun was rising.

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TBC

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Author's Notes:  Answering Questions and Such

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Thank you to everyone who encouraged my to write this as my muses were dictating me!  I think the muses would have killed me or refused to cooperate if I tried to go against them and it's nice to know I have your support.

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I have seen some confusion for the chapter entitled The Punishment.  Kura was punished because Kaiba found their food bag empty and assumed that Kura ate everything (hence why he and Odion had to go to town for more food).  Kura's smart remark didn't help the situation, but it wasn't why he was punished.  Just wanted to clear that up.  And yes, it was Malik who ate everything so that Kura got in trouble.

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Kelsey, is it weird that the whole time I read the book The Thief, I felt that Sophos and Gen should have gotten together?  I guess it's just the slasher in me.  Well, don't worry.  I certainly don't intend to turn this into a gooey love story.

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Enjoy everyone!

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The Inspector

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	12. The Stone

The Thief

By The Inspector

Chapter 12

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Disclaimer:  I don't own.  Nope, not mine.  No plagiarism is meant.  Blah blah blah, don't sue me.  Blah blah blah, thank you.

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Kura slept through the day, waking only once to turn over so that the sun could warm his other side.  After a night in the cold river, the sun was more comforting than a fleece blanket and he didn't stir again until it began to set.

He had been dreaming again, about the woman in white.  There was a thick collar around her slender neck made of gold and inset with green and blue precious stones.  Kura could see that her face was a golden brown color, but her skin was darker.  She used an ibis feather pen to put a second mark next to his name.

Kura was going to ask her where the temple was, where the alter and the statue of Horus were, when the smell of coffee woke him.  Groaning, Kura stretched his arms over his head and opened his eyes.  Ryou was standing over him with a small cup of coffee that he placed in Kura's hand.

At Kura's suspicious look, Ryou laughed and shook his head.  "Don't worry," he said with a bright smile.  "I didn't make it.  It's Odion's."

Kura grinned, flashing his teeth, and took a sip of the hot brew.  It was dark and sweet and he hummed softly in content.  "Gods bless you," Kura thanked Ryou gratefully.

Ryou blushed and looked away shyly.  "You're welcome," he said.

Kura took another sip and looked up at Ryou over his cup.  His pale face was full of color.  Like pink roses on new snow.  "You're cute when you blush," he teased, which only made the poor boy blush harder.  Kura laughed and stood up, taking his coffee with him.  "Magus!" he yelled, "Where are you?  I'm hungry!"

Ryou looked at Kura's retreating form, still yelling at Kaiba, and shook his head.  Just when he thought he had Kura figured out…

"Ryou!"

Ryou yelped and jumped in surprise, whirling around to see Malik standing behind him.  "Malik," he said, hand at his chest.  "You scared me!"

"Yeah, well, that's not hard to do," Malik smirked.  "Come on.  Odion has dinner ready.  We need to get it before the thief does."

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Kaiba said dryly as Kura plunked himself down near him, the thief looking pleased as a cat with a saucer of cream.  "You can have your food after you've answered some questions."

Kaiba had a lot of questions for Kura.  First, though, he had Kura describe in fine detail his experience from the other night.

Kura told him about the maze and corridors of solid rock.  He told him about the trap, though not that he almost got stuck in it, and he told him about the pool of bones.

"How many bones?" Kaiba asked curiously.

'Ghoul,' Kura through.  "I saw parts of four or five.  Does it matter?"

"My predecessor came here looking for Horus's Gift," Kaiba explained.  "But he came alone.  That would make some of the bones older.  I wish I knew…"

"Knew what?" Kura prompted when the magus fell silent.

Kaiba looked up, almost having forgotten that the thief was still there.  "Knew why whole expeditions have disappeared after this goal."

Kura rolled his eyes and moved over so that Ryou and Malik could sit by the fire.  Who cared about why they disappeared?  "I wish I knew how the bones came to be piled up in the back of the maze and none of them left in the trap at the front."

A thoughtful look appeared on Kaiba's face.   "An astute observation," he said.  "Maybe somebody moved them?"

Kura shrugged.  He didn't know why someone would want to move the bodies.  Besides, the thief would have to be pretty smart not to get himself locked in the trap in the first place.  Kura looked around the campsite and another thought occurred to him.  "I'd move camp if I were you," he said.

"Why?"

"The river turns here," Kura pointed out.  "And we're right across from the falls.  If the water came back faster than it did last night, it would jump the falls and land on top of you.  You, Odion, and Ryou would be washed across the sandbar and end up somewhere downriver, probably drowned."

"Hey, what about me?" Malik asked, having been listening in on Kura's conversation for awhile.

"Good riddance to you," Kura sneered, earning himself another bop on the head with Kaiba's heavy ring.

"We'll move," Kaiba said as he settled back down. 

Odion came over and handed Kura his plate.  "Eat."

While Kura practically inhaled his food, he asked Odion if he had any rope or twine.  He needed a longer piece than the ones he had in his pockets.  After dinner he waited for the river to go down and same as the night before, it disappeared just after midnight.

Inside the maze, Kura found both his wayward shoes bobbing in the water.  Kura put them on and scowled.  They were cold and felt squishy on his feet.  But by the time he got the first lock open, he'd forgotten about them.

Locks are not difficult to open, Kura knew.  They all work on the same system: Little tumblers keep the lock closed in this position and open in that position.  The more tumblers you have, the more expensive the lock, but if a thief can open a lock with four tumblers, he can open one with six or eight or twelve almost as easily.  He just uses a longer false key with adjustable strikes to move the tumblers.

"If you want to keep something safe," Kura muttered to himself, "Hire a guard.  At least until someone invents a better lock."  That or hide your treasure where no one will find it.  That's what most people do.  Being able to find valuables hidden in boxes behind bed frames, moving through a building with no one the wiser, those were important skills for a thief.  Those, and a good head for heights.  From his experience, people usually don't hide their emerald earrings in the cellar.

Kura blocked open the doors with rocks he had brought from the river and made his way to the back of the maze where the pool of bones was.  It was the one place in the maze that he could think of that might hold Horus's Gift.

Kneeling in the water, Kura began to rank his fingers through it, disturbing silt and bones.  He found rings, gold buttons, silver buttons, brass buttons, cloak pins, and brooches.  The thieves who had come before him had certainly been a wealthy bunch.  But nothing Kura found was Horus's Gift.

Kura pocked one ring with a large green emerald on his finger and shoved everything else he had found back in the water, offerings to the gods.

With the bones searched, all that was left to do was measure the maze, using the rope that Odion gave him.  It took him all night.

When he was ready to leave though, Kura found that all his door blockers failed to hold the doors open.  Kura could feel the river coming back in and hurried to get the doors open.  His foot kicked the pry bar, but he didn't stop to pick it up and hurried out, breathing a sigh of relief.

This time Kaiba was waiting for Kura.  "Any luck?" he asked.

"No," Kura scowled, shaking out his wet hair.

"Dammit.  What have you been doing all night?" Kaiba snapped.

"Tripping over pry bars," Kura retorted smartly.  "Where's my breakfast?"  After he finished eating, Kura asked Kaiba for a piece of paper.

"Going to write a letter to your sweetheart?" Malik chirped as he poked Kura in the side.

"What makes you think my sweetheart can read?" Kura scowled, pushing Malik away from him.  To the magus he said, "Just get me a piece of paper."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and pulled himself up to grab his bag.  He tore a sheet of paper from the back of his journal and handed it to Kura with a flourish.  "I hear and obey," he said, "Which is more than you have ever done."

Kura snatched the paper from his hand and used a charcoal stick from the fire to mark out the measurement he'd stored in his head from the maze.  Presently he looked up from his work to see Ryou sitting across from him.  "What?" Kura asked, suspicious.

Ryou bit his lip for a second before blurting out, "Do you really have a sweetheart?"  Then he blushed, his cheeks turning bright pink and adding pretty color to his pale face.  "No, t-that's not what I meant," he stammered.

Kura smiled and shook his head.  "No, Ryou," he said.  "No, I don't have a sweetheart.  In my line of work it's not worth it.  Besides," he smirked, "I'm told I'm difficult to get alone with."

Ryou giggled and nodded enthusiastically.  "You are," he teased, reseating himself beside Kura.  "Not to mention that you're obnoxious and disliked."

"Ouch, Ryou," Kura clutched his heart and fell over onto his side, trying to keep his face straight, "That hurt.  Right in the heart.  Talk about kicking a man when he's down!"

Ryou giggled and pounced on him like a kitten ambushing his littermate, causing a short wrestling match.  Kura, easily the stronger of the two, pinned Ryou to the ground with his weight and held his captive's hands over his head. 

"You're in for it now," Kura purred, grinning evilly down at Ryou.  He stiffened his free hand into a claw and ran in down Ryou's side, making the boy squirm and giggle.  "Tickle torture!" Kura crowed and began to tickle his captive, reducing Ryou to a shaking, giggling, helpless mass.

"I give, I give!" Ryou finally gasped amidst laughter.  "You win!"  With a smirk, Kura released his hands and rolled off him.  Just in time too.  Kaiba stomped back over to them and crossed his hands over his chest.  Odion, who glanced suspiciously from the sand on Kura's clothes to Ryou's bright eyes and rumpled hair, was right behind him.

"Are you done yet?" Kaiba asked impatiently.  Kura nodded and handed him the map of the maze he had made.  "What's this?" Kaiba asked, pointing to a smudge on the paper.

"A mistake," Kura answered, standing up and then lending a hand to Ryou.  "I keep getting my measurements turned around.  That big piece of obsidian I told you about is here."  Kura made another smudge on the paper.

Kaiba snorted at it with little interest.  "If I were here to get rich, I'd be a happy man.  As it is, I'm not.  How long is the rope?"

Kura shrugged.  "About thirty feet," he guessed.

"Thirty exactly," Odion corrected.

"So this space here," Kaiba pointed to a spot on Kura's map, "Might be as much as eight by six?"

"I guess so," Kura said.  "But there is no door anywhere.  I've searched every inch of those walls.  If there was a door there, I would have found it."

"What about the bones?" Kaiba said quietly, lowering his voice.  "Did you search among the bones?"

"Yes."

"And did you find anything?"

Kura looked down at the ring on his finger, and all eyes followed.  Malik whistled and bent closer for a better look.  In the sunlight, the emerald gleamed and Kura could see that it was a very old seal ring.

"The writing is pre-invader," Kaiba said, removing it from Kura's hand to get a better look at it.  Whoever lost it here with his life either had it in his family for a very long time, or he lost it a very long time ago."

"Hey," Kura complained when Kaiba passed the ring to Odion, "Give that back.  I found it, I keep it."

"Oh fine," Kaiba said, handing the ring back.  "Tomb robber."

Kura snickered.  "I'm attempting to rob a god's temple, what care do I have of the spirits of a few dead men?"  With the ring back in his safe possession, Kura lay down and fell asleep to get ready for his last night in the maze.

Again he dreamed of the woman in white.  But this time, she called him by name.  Kura flinched and hesitated a moment before calling out, "I'm here."

She nodded her heavy head.  "Many have sought twice in the maze and yet gone away," she told him quietly.  "If you go a third time into the maze, you will not leave without what you seek."

"And I will go," Kura informed her.  Her tail twitched, almost nervous.

"There is no shame if you do not," she said, concern for the thief coloring her face.  It reminded Kura of a way a mother car looks when her kitten climbs a tree.  "Who brings you here?" she asked.

"I bring myself," Kura said firmly.

"Then you will go?"

"Yes."

And she made a third mark next to his name.

Kura woke with still an hour before sunset.  The sand under him was warm and he was quite comfortable.  When he finally opened his eyes he saw Kaiba, Odion, and Malik sitting around the cold fire ring talking quietly.

"Hey," Kura said, yawning as he staggered over to the group.  "Where's Ryou?"

"I sent him to find more wood," Kaiba said dismissively.

'Knowing Ryou,' Kura thought to himself, 'He probably fell in the river.'  "Can he swim?" Kura wondered aloud.

Kaiba glanced at Odion, who shrugged and glanced at Malik, who scratched his head in confusion.  Without another word they all stood, brushed the sand off their clothes, and went to look for Ryou.

Not five minutes later, Ryou came up over the ridge behind Kura with a bundle of brush.  "Where is everyone?" Ryou asked as he dropped next to Kura.

"Looking for you," Kura explained.  "We thought you might have fallen in the river and drowned."

A dark shadow crossed Ryou's face and he turned away with a huff.  "I'm not completely helpless you know," he groused.

"Of course not, kitten," Kura teased, patting him on the head and drawing out another blush.  "Your claws just haven't grown in yet."

They sat in easy silence for the next half hour, looking down the path to see if the others would be back any time soon.  Personally, Kura didn't mind if they lost Malik on the way.  But he wasn't that lucky.

"I swim very well," Ryou said pointedly when Kaiba and Odion sat back down beside him and Kura.

As soon as Kura got his dinner from the magus, he moved away from the fire to sit in the dark.  Ryou went with him and Kura was grateful for his company.

"Kura?" Ryou asked sleepily as he lay his head against Kura's shoulder, "Can you hear the river coming back inside?"

"Not really," Kura said.  "But sometimes it's like I can feel it, like an instinct or a warring shout in the dark."

"You will be careful, right?"

"Yes."

"Promise?"

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On his third night in the maze, Kura finally remembered to pick up the pry bar at the entrance to the maze.  Then he went to work, feeling every inch of the inner wall, looking for something he had missed.  It took most of the night.  But he found nothing.

Kura leaned against the wall and pushed his hair out of his face.  It didn't make sense!  Why go through all the pain of making this stupid maze if it weren't hiding something?  He shook his head and felt a small snag in his hair before hearing a quiet plink as something hit the stone floor.

Kura's hand flew up to his neck.  Ryou's good luck charm was gone!  He dropped to his knees, one hand holding the lamp to cast light on the floor, and search frantically with the other for the missing item.

He stubbed his fingers on the uneven floor a few times before he brushed something cool.  It was the giant piece of obsidian.  He looked up and got an odd feeling of déjà vu.  Kura stood slowly, looking at with new eyes.  It was easily the size of a double doorway.

As if in a trace, Kura retrieved his pry and slammed it into the glass.  A small chunk chipped away and he turned his face aside and swung again, harder.  A small hole appeared now and Kura stuck his hand through, feeling dry air on the other side.

Now he began to smash the rock glass in earnest.  Huge pieces of the glass crumbled and fell, sending dust particles everywhere until there was a hole large enough for Kura to slip through.

Kura looked through the hole and saw a staircase leading up and out of sight.  That's where he needed to go, he could feel it.

Picking up his lamp again from where he had dropped it, Kura picked his way though the rubble and climbed up the stairs.

He was so concentrated on not slipping on the stairs that it wasn't until he looked up at the top that he realized that he was in a room full of people.  Kura gasped and held his breath, but no one moved.  Was it possible they hadn't heard him?  No, not with all the noise he'd made when taking down the door.

'They're just statues, stupid,' he chided himself, and forced his feet to move forward.

They were all perfect.  Unblemished and unreal.  Tall, taller than even Odion, and majestic.  Some had human forms, others had the heads of animals, and some where completely animalistic.  But they were all wonderful and terrible.  Kura didn't dare touch them.

Away from the aisle and towards of the back of the room, Kura saw the woman from his dream and he smiled.  Sekhmet.  He should have known.  The Lion Headed goddess who doled out divine punishment to the enemies of the gods.  She had been his mother's patron god.

Kura turned away and his mouth dropped open.  At the front of the room was a throne and sitting there was the statue of the Great Falcon Headed God Horus.  His clothes were blue and white.  A double crown of red and white sat finely on his head and two cobras were entwined around his arms.  On his knees was a polished silver tray that held a single little gray stone.

Kura crept forward slowly and extended his hand.  His heart was beating like a wild bird in a cage in his chest.

One of the snakes moved.

Kura gasped and jerked his hand away.  This was not some cleverly sculpted replica of Horus and the other gods.  This was the Great God, and he was surrounded by his court.  Kura swallowed hard and looked up at the being he had mistaken for a statue.  Horus looked beyond him, impassive and distant.  Not unaware of the thief, but unmoved by him.

There was a murmur of voices behind Kura, but he couldn't make out the words.  He felt frozen in place.  To move forward or back would surely earn him his death.  Then something moved from the dark corner near Horus's throne.

He was shorter than the other gods and was dressed simply in plain gray and red cloak that fell to his ankles.  He almost looked shabby next to the finery of the others but he held himself like a king.  His skin was dark but his hair was light as moonlight.  On the side of his face, near his eye, was a scar made of two lines intersected by another.

"Congratulations," Bakura, the god who had once been mortal, said with a smirk.  "The gods are pleased your determination and with your offering," he opened his hand and Bakura saw Ryou's good luck charm resting innocently on his palm.  "The prize is yours.  Take it."

Kura did not move.

The patron of thieves came closer.  "Nerve fail you?" he asked with a laugh.  "Well, you are still here."

Kura swallowed hard and inched forward, never taking his eyes off the dark thief.  "Take it," Bakura insisted, and Kura plucked the stone the tray and bolted.  He could have sworn he heard the gods laughing.

Kura clutched the stone close to his chest, the returning river roaring in his ears as he stumbled down the stairs.  He had taken too long!  Kura fought the river as he tried to open the doors.  Twelve inches rose to two feet in the time it took to get one door open. 

He sloshed through the water, breathing hard.  Was he now to die after finally achieving his goal?  Would the obsidian door be repaired and the stone taken back up the Horus?  No, he could die now.  Hadn't he promised Ryou?

Kura pushed on and sighed in relief when he saw the outer door of stone.  He pushed against it with his whole weight and his very soul, when the under current dragged him under.  Kura fought to turn over and get up, but the river had him pinned.  Darkness swallowed him whole.

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TBC

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Author's Note:  Answering Questions and Such

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Kyoko-san, thank you so much for pointing out that error.  I fixed it right away.

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TeeDee, yup, the list holds the names of everyone who has tried to steal the stone.

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NOTE:  Just in case anyone wonders, this story is going to be updated every Thursday until it's finished.

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The Inspector

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	13. The Chase

The Thief

By The Inspector

Chapter 13

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Disclaimer: Same thing as always. I don't own. I don't make money. I don't want to be sued. Thanks so much.

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When Kura woke, the sun was up and the day was already warm. He was on the bank of the river, his clothes heavy with sand and his feet still in the water. Had it all been a dream? He opened his eyes and looked at what was caught in his hand. Still there after a night in the river was the poor, plain, gray-and-white spotted stone-Horus's Gift.

Clasping it to his chest, Kura closed his eyes and thanked every god he could remember. For some reason, they had decided to spare him. Then he pulled his feet out of the river and dragged his tired body up to where the sand was dry and lay down to sleep a little longer.

That's where Kaiba, Odion, Malik, and Ryou found him some time later. After Kura had not returned to camp when the river returned, they walked downstream with their packs to see if they could find his body so that they might at least give him a decent burial.

Kura woke when he heard their voices coming around the bend. Slowly he said up, groaning at the new bruises on his body and blinked in the sun.

The rest of his party starred at him in shock. "Holy Ra!" Malik finally exclaimed. "Are you telling me he's still ALIVE?"

Ryou let out a strangled cry and ran to him, throwing himself in Kura's arms and began to sob. "I thought you were dead!" he cried, burying his head against the thief's chest. Kura blinked dumbly at the rest of the party and then wrapped his arms around the shaking boy, rocking him gently back and forth.

"Well," Kaiba said as they made their way over, "At least my conscience is clear that you did not drown." He sighed and pushed his hair out of his face. "We are alive, and you are alive, so this expedition was at least not the disaster of earlier ones. If we failed to recover Horus's Gift, well, perhaps someone found it first or it was never there at all."

Without meaning to, Kura unwrapped one arm from around Ryou's waist and opened his hand so that the magus could see the Gift resting on his palm.

Kaiba sank to his knees and Kura grinned at the magus's wonder and his own delight. Odion and Malik pressed closer to see the prize that they had traveled all this way for and even Ryou turned around, sniffing once or twice, to see it.

"You are a wonder, Kura," Ryou said, hugging the thief.

"Where was it?" Kaiba asked, taking the stone and turning it in this hand to inspect all sides.

Kura told him about the obsidian door and stairway, but declined to tell him about the gods. He didn't want to risk Kaiba dismissing and laughing at what he knew had happened.

"The river came down just as you said it might," Kaiba informed Kura, "It washed right across our old campsite on the lower bank. So I suppose we owe you for our lives as well."

"Is that really Horus's Gift," Malik said, leaning over Kaiba's shoulder to see the rock. Kaiba turned it over for him so that he could see the ancient lettering carved into the stone with Horus's ancient name. "But it's just a dumb old gray rock!"

"Take a closer look," Kaiba said. "What we see is not always the truth and can deceive us." He handed the stone back to Kura. "What can our thief see?"

Kura held Horus's Gift up in the sun and saw a glint of something blue at the bottom on one of the letters of Horus's name. "It's a sapphire," Kura said in surprise. "At least, part of it is."

"Correct," Kaiba said, "There is a description of the stone in the scrolls of the High Priest of Eddis. Whenever someone produces a stone, the High Priest compares it to the description in the scroll. No one but the Priest is allowed to read the description and so no one has ever managed to offer a successful fake. Probably because someone who is already as wealthy and powerful as the High Priest of Eddis is difficult to corrupt."

"Or he's already corrupt and doesn't want to share his power," Kura put in.

"But you know the description?" Ryou asked Kaiba.

"Yes."

"How?"

"My predecessor visited the High Priest during a trip as ambassador to Eddis," Kaiba explained. "He gave the pries a drugged bottle of wine and then looked through his library while he was unconscious. I found the description of the stone in his journals after he went missing."

Kura shuddered at the idea of poisoning a High Priest. They were still throwing people off the edge of the mountain for crimes like that.

-------

There was little food left and what there was left was rather unappetizing. After Kura swallowed the last of the dried meat, he asked Odion for some string to tie back his hair. He was given two pieces of leather thong, one longer than the other, and tied up his hair with the long one, saving the other for later.

Then they began the trip back across the dystopia, Kaiba wearing Horus's Gift around his neck. Kura was a little disgruntled that it had passed out of his hands only a few hours after he had stolen it.

The sun on the dystopia was hot and over bearing, but Kaiba pushed them on with breaks far and few between. "The quicker we go, the better," he told them.

At the edge of the black ground, they reclaimed the horses, fat from eating the overgrown grass and dropped fruit.

"I'm hungry," Kura complained as they entered the Sea of Olives. And he continued to whine and groan about his empty stomach until they reached a small stream and a group of men on horseback appeared from behind the trees.

Kura saw the swords in their hands and didn't wait to learn anything else. He dragged his horse to the side, hitting Kaiba's horse and barely brushing shoulders with the magus before he managed to turn the horse into the trees.

As a branch passed over his head, Kura grabbed it with his free hand and pulled himself up into the tree, leaving the horse to keep walking rider-less.

By the time he was secure on a higher branch and could look down, Kaiba and Odion had their swords out and one of the attacking horsemen was laying facedown in the water.

Kaiba proved himself a dangerous swordsman, Odion's equal in skill and superior in style. Between them they managed to hold back the three remaining attackers. This was good, because Kura was sharply reminded of exactly how useless the two boys were.

Ryou was twisted in his saddle with his back to the fight, trying to get his sword out of his saddlebag. Malik was doing the same, but he had the sense to turn his horse away from danger. Ryou, looking in the wrong direction, didn't know how close he was to being spitted.

"Ryou!" Kura called from the tree. "Ryou, damn it, move!" But Ryou didn't hear him over the other shouting, which was mostly Odion and Kaiba yelling at him to forget the sword and hide in the trees.

Kura swore fiercely and ran along the length of his tree branch, throwing himself facedown on the limb and reaching through the leaves. All that he could reach of Ryou was his hair but one of the horsemen slipped between Kaiba and Odion so Kura grabbed large handfuls of the white fluff and pulled Ryou off-balance.

With a surprised gasp, Ryou fell off his horse and landed in the mud, the animal between him and the fighting. He would have been safe if he stayed down, but he struggled to his feet, sword finally in hand, and the cursed horse moved away. Ryou was left, standing with his mouth open, as his opponent lifted his sword.

High in his tree, Kura flinched and closed his eyes. He didn't want to watch. But at the last possible moment Ryou must have shifted his weight and parried the blow aimed at his head.

Kura heard the clang of metal on metal and his heart shuddered and his stomach jumped. Ryou's return to guard was always slow, and he had to be off balance.

But when Kura peered through his fingers, he saw Odion appear behind Ryou's assailant and slid his sword into the man's rib cage, nearly to the hilt. The man hung for a moment on the sword, and then slid off into the water. With all the horsemen finished off, Kura was able to breath easier and sat up on his branch.

With everything calming down, the magus was finally able to check on the members of his group. Ryou was a little shaken, but unhurt. Malik was fine and Odion had a small superficial cut on his arm below his elbow.

"And Kura," Kaiba said, looking up at the thief, "I see you found a safe place to hide while we were busy."

Kura scowled and opened his mouth to point out that he didn't have a sword to defend himself with, not that he wouldn't have climbed the tree anyway, but instead he starred at Kaiba and his mouth dropped open like a horrified gargoyle. Slowly, he raised his hand and pointed to the magus's shirt.

Kaiba lifted his hand instinctively to his shirt, checking for a wound, before he realized that Horus's Gift was gone. He looked down at the neatly sliced leather thong laying over one shoulder. Frantically, Kaiba searched the folds of his clothes, the ridges of his saddle, and the saddlebags before he waded into the stream.

"What happened?" Malik cried, shimmying down from his mount, "What happened?"

"The stone, the damn stone," Kaiba said. "I lost it in the fighting. Damn it! Who are these people?" he snapped, shifting a body off a gravel bank in midstream."

"Shame you can't ask them," Kura said dryly from the tree as he redid his hair, "Because you killed them all."

"They are Attolian Guards," Odion said gravely. He pointed so the identification of their uniforms. "These were scouts."

"Great," Kaiba snarled. "Kura, get down out of that tree and help us look."

"I can't believe you lost it!" Kura whined as he slid down the tree. "All my hard work, and you LOSE it! I risked my life for that thing!"

"Shut up!"

They looked for the stone for a good quarter of an hour, shifting through rocks on the riverbed that looked no different from the precious stone, when Odion finally spoke.

"It's gone, magus."

There was a long silence while Kaiba still starred through the water at the gravel. "Yes," he said at last. "Yes, we must go. When the Scouts do not return they will send others. We must go as quickly as we can." He looked back at the water and shook his head. "I don't believe this."

"You don't believe it," Kura snapped as he squeezed out his wet shoes, "I don't believe it! How could you just lose it!?"

"Shut up!"

Everyone mounted their respective horses and Kaiba turned to take one last look around at the stream and trees around him, as if he were memorizing the place so that he might return someday and resume his search again.

"Let's move!" Odion said, and the horses were kicked into a gallop. Kura tried very hard to keep his concentration on his riding. Now was not the time to drop behind or, worse, fall off the horse.

After some distance was covered, they turned the horses into the trees and moved a little slower. "We have to keep ahead of them," Kaiba said matter-a-factly, "They'll track us."

Kura's head swiveled around to stare at the Magus. The man sounded almost…cheerful. How could he be cheerful!? He was stunned, and it must have shown.

"I've given it some thought, Kura," Kaiba said, "And I've decided that the stone itself doesn't matter. We've seen it, have the description, and know that no one can produce the original. We'll simply make a copy. We'll manage."

Kura didn't know how someone who had held the stone in his hand managed to say that it wasn't important. He almost expected lightening to strike the magus dead. And all of his work just thrown away because the magus _would_ manage. Kura grit his teeth and growled.

"Stop it," Kaiba tossed back before he turned to Odion. "We'll follow this track to the main road. It is the fastest way to Sounis."

"What about food?" Kura snarled, ticked off that they were ignoring him.

"We'll try to get something in Pirrhea tonight," he said vaguely.

"Tonight?!" Kura screeched as his stomach gave a hungry rumble that was heard all the way to the last rider in the line.

'I'm sorry," Kaiba snapped, "But I can't just pull food out of the air for you."

"Well, you're not going to pull it out of Pirrhea either," Kura shrieked, "What, do you plan to just knock on a door and say, 'Oh, Excuse us. There are four of the Queen's Guard dead, soldiers are searching every road for us, and I'd like to buy some bread and dried meat, please?'!"

"And what do you suggest, O oracle of the gutter?" Kaiba growled.

"I suggest that you should have brought food for five people on this miserable traveling circus of yours," Kura retorted smartly, "That, or you should have left Useless the Elder and his younger brother at home!"

"He's not my brother," Malik said, offended.

"That," Kura snarled, whirling on him, "Was a figure of speech. Now shut up!" Malik jumped in the saddle like he had been slapped. Then his eyes got hard.

"You lying little bastard," Malik snapped, "I am a valuable asset to this group! Unlike you, you gutless gutter brat!"

"You were no help just now," Kura returned smartly.

"Neither were you," Malik shot back. "You went and climbed a TREE!"

"Hey, I didn't have a sword."

"You can have mine once I run you through with it."

"Stop!" Odion ordered and both boys fell silent for a few moments.

Then Kura turned back to Kaiba. "How do you propose we'll get this food?" he demanded.

But Kura's altercation with Malik had given him a moment to think and he had arrived at the obvious solution. "You," Kaiba said with a smirk, "Are going to steal it."

"Just great!"

---------

Pirrhea was an old town. Kura left the others in the trees outside the town limits. "You have one hour," Kaiba told him as he gave the thief a small sack. "If you aren't back by then, I will go into town and shout 'Thief!' at the top of my voice."

Had it not been so dark, Kaiba would have seen the contempt on Kura's face. As it was, he heard it in his voice.

"Be sure to shout 'Murderers! Murderers!' too," Kura hissed. Better yet, he'd do it himself. That was one way to get rid of his problems.

Kaiba grabbed Kura's arm as he tried to pass, jerking him back around to face him. "Either way, we all go to the block together," Kaiba said nastily.

Kura shook the magus off and stomped off towards the town to find food. Kitchen gardens were easily raided and Kura harvested whatever his hands found. He didn't dare risk his neck by going inside homes, not when he had so much to lose, and stuck to looting what could be found outside.

Feeling like a creeping fox, he snuck into a hen house at the largest home he found and wrung the necks of three chickens and then slipped into the barn to collect to can of goat milk before returning to the magus and the others.

Sadly, there was no time to stop and cook the chickens. Odion tied them to his saddle and everyone had to be content with raw vegetables and a mouthful or so of the milk. "Well cook the chickens as soon as we're in Eddis," Kaiba promised, "Once we're on neutral ground."

They road hard into the night, not stopping for sleep except the few minutes that could be caught while the horses were being rested. But they couldn't delay for long. The guards pursuing them were never far behind.

It was midmorning when they finally stepped out of the Sea of Olives and found themselves at the base of the mountain that rose sharply out of the ground.

"Eddis begins here," Malik said cheerfully. "Aren't we on neutral ground now?"

"Only if there are enough Eddisians around to insist on it," Kaiba said gravely. "Dismount, we have to hike it up."

"Not me," Kura said as the horses trotted off on their own. He fully intended to find himself a safe hiding place to wait until the hunt for the travelers went past him. "I'm going my own way now." He had no intention of being taken back to prison, or to Sounis for that matter. He washed his hands of that entire country.

Kaiba was astonished. Then he was angry. "What to you mean, not you?" he demanded.

"I'll take my chances in Attolia," Kura retorted, "I am not going back."

"You are coming back with us even if I have to drag you there myself!" Kaiba shouted.

But it didn't phase Kura. He simply crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against a huge bolder. "You're wasting time," he pointed out lazily.

Kaiba threw up his hands. "Fine!" he bellowed. "Go die on the swords of the Attolians. Be drawn, quartered, and hung; I don't care! Spend the rest of your miserable, worthless life in one of their dungeons. It makes no difference to me!"

Kura stood aside and watched the small group begin their ascension up the mountainside. Kaiba muttered curses as he began climbing his way up. Odion was quiet and Malik wore a triumphant smirk on his face. But Ryou…

After a few hesitant steps after the rest of his companions, Ryou stopped and slid back down the few inches he had climbed and walked back to Kura. Awkwardly, he pulled his sword free from its scabbard and offered it to Kura. "It's not any use to me," Ryou explained truthfully, "Be careful."

It was only a beginner's sword, lighter than a regular one, but better than nothing. Kura took it from Ryou and nodded. "Thank you," he said honestly. He glanced up to see Kaiba look back and snort in contempt before he disappeared between two boulders, making his way up towards the cliff. "You need to hurry," Kura said at last. "Go, Ryou."

When Ryou didn't move, Kura gave him a small shove in the directing of the mountain and climbed up the side of his boulder to wait. At the top of it, he was above the eye level of any passing horseman, and it served as good a hiding place as any.

Kura listened with sharp ears until he heard the small clatter of rocks as Ryou finally began making his way up the mountain's steep side. Lying out of the rock, he settled down to wait and tried to keep grisly images of them all beheaded out of his mind.

He watched Ryou pick his way up, now the only one still visible from the road, and remembered how the boy had slipped down a good deal of the mountain on the way down. He was allowing himself a small smile of victory, when his heart began to race as he heard the jingle of bits.

The Attolians, dressed primly in the colors of the Queen's Guard, approached fast and halted at the base of the mountain. "Come down, boy," one called up to Ryou, laughing.

To Kura's horror, Ryou's grip faltered and he slipped a few feet before he could stop himself. But his hold on the mountain was weak and he was sure to slip again before he could recover the distance he had fallen. Kura could see it and so could the Attolians who unsheathed their swords and held them in the boy's direction, meaning to tear him apart as soon as he was within their range.

Kura shook his head stubbornly, tried to understand the internal battle going inside him between his head and heart. He had promised, had sworn to the gods that he wouldn't get involved in any more of these stupid plans. He had his full of stupid plans. And yet, his heart gave a great lurch as Ryou shrieked in fear as he slipped again and the Attolian Guards laughed.

This was not his fight! This was none of his business. He had his own motives and goals to achieve! Wasn't his fight…

_FLASHBACK_

_"What's your point?" __Kura__ challenged, "Eddis didn't have a motive to get involved in a fight because Eddis never got overrun. The Invaders never conquered _them_. It wasn't their fight." _

_"The Invaders eventually took over Attolia as well as Sounis," Kaiba said, "And yes, the rule of Eddis never changed hands at the invasion of an outside force. Eddis just sat back and watched everything happen, never lifting a finger to help either of her neighbors that were invaded."_

_FLASHBACK_

Could he just sit back and watch Ryou die because it wasn't a factor of his plan? Ryou, sweet little Ryou with the kindest heart he had ever known? No, no he couldn't do it. In fact…Kura's eyes narrowed in anger. The Guards were almost twice Ryou's age. How _dare_ they attack him like this!?

With a growl like a white-haired mountain lion, Kura launched himself off the boulder and jumped onto one of the Guards, taking him down and the guy that had been next to him. The guy Kura had jumped on was hit by the horse behind him, who had been startled when the rider fell right at his feet.

Scrambling away on all fours and dragging Ryou's sword after him, Kura hurried to get away from the knot of riders and jumped to his feet. "Leave him alone," he demanded, waving the sword at the remaining guards. Then before they could react, he turned and ran.

'Follow me,' his mind hissed, 'Leave Ryou. Follow me.' He didn't have time to turn around, but he hoped that Odion had gone to get his smaller look-a-like. Once he got to the trees he'd be safe. Without dogs, they would never be able to track him. But he couldn't outdistance them on foot and swerved back to the mountain, trying to get to the rocks where he wouldn't be ridden down.

A horse swerved in front of Kura just before it made it to the rocks and he turned around. There were horses everywhere, and shouting. Everyone seemed to be shouting.

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TBC

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Author's Note: Answering Questions and Such

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(Blink, Blink) Kelsey! Oh my god! You were the only one to recognize that line from 1776. Yes, the obnoxious and disliked part. I love the musical 1776 and love to sneak the quote into my writing if I can get it there. Good job!

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Sorry Mokuba's Official Glomper, I saw your question last time and forgot to answer it. Yes, the plot and some of the lines in this story are from a book called The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.

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That's all for now! Until next week.

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The Inspector

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	14. The Queen

The Thief

By The Inspector

Chapter 14

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Disclaimer: Never have owned. Never have made money. Please don't sue me. Thanks and enjoy the story.

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Kura heard the tumblers clicking as the guards unlocked his cell door before opening it to wave Kaiba in. Without moving, moving hurt too much, he could see him silhouetted by lamplight in the doorway with Ryou beside him. Once the door was closed and locked behind him, the cell was completely dark again. Kura lay quietly and hoped that the brief light into the room hadn't allowed them to see him in his dark corner.

"Magus?" Kura heard Ryou whisper in the dark. He could almost hear the boy tugging on his teacher's sleeve.

"Yes, I saw him," Kaiba answered, and Kura's hope sank and died.

He heard the magus's careful steps across the floor and Ryou's shuffling ones right behind him. When they got close to where Kura lay, he heard Kaiba pause and sink to his knees before reaching out with his hands. One hand found his sleeve in the darkness and followed to down until Kaiba touched Kura's hand very quickly, to see if the thief was warm and alive or cold and dead.

"He's alive," Kura heard Kaiba tell Ryou, and he felt a smaller hand slip into his and squeeze it comfortingly.

"Kura, can you hear me?" Ryou whispered softly. In the dark he found Kura's face and pushed the hair that was laying across it out of the way. His hands were very gentle. "Kura?"

"I'm here," Kura said at last. His voice sounded thin and ghostly in the dark. "I'm here, Ryou."

"Kura." Ryou's voice glowed warm with happiness at the reply before he turned concerned. "How are you feeling? Does it hurt very bad?"

"Yeah," Kura admitted, closing his eyes. "It does."

"Kura," Kaiba said, pushing Ryou aside so that he could inspect the thief, "Kura, I think the bleeding has stopped. Kura?"

"Kura!"

---------------

When Kura woke again, a gloomy light came in through the barred window and he could see Ryou sitting quietly at his side. The next thing he noticed was that his shirt, though still stiff with his blood, had been opened and he was wrapped in white bandages.

"The magus told the guards," Ryou said when he saw the thief looking cross-eyed down at his chest, "That you could always be killed later, but if you died you couldn't be questioned."

Kura looked up at Ryou, starred at his too pale face for a moment, and then held out his hand to him. With a small cry, Ryou grasped his hand briefly before lying down and burying his face into Kura's neck, his chin resting on his shoulder all the while carefully avoiding the wound.

"You have got to stop doing this to me," Ryou said, half laughing half sobbing. "I thought you were dead."

"Heh," Kura commented, "So did I." He contented himself by combing his hand through Ryou's hair for a few minutes before asking, "Where is everyone?"

"They came and took the magus away an hour ago. For questioning, I think. Odion and Malik are, are dead. We saw everything," he added.

The Queen's Guard had split into two groups and had the travelers trapped from both ends. Odion, Kaiba, and Malik had been restrained by one group even as Ryou fought to keep from slipping and falling into the hands of the other. Stretched out on the boulder, Kura had been easy to see from above.

"Don't bother to kill him," Kaiba said bitterly to the Queen's captain. "He'll just stay there until you climb down to arrest him."

"He's armed," the captain of the Guard reminded Kaiba, and he cupped his hands to shout a warning to his men who were still taunting a frightened Ryou, but Kaiba waved his hand in dismissal.

"The only thing he can do with a sword is steal it or sell it," Kaiba said, still angry with the thief for deserting them.

So they all just watch as Kura turned what had been an orderly hunt into a knot of confusion and wounded men. "Not what you expected?" the captain asked in wry tones. Kaiba could only shake his head in slight shock.

"Well," the magus said at last in defeat as he watched Kura make a run for it. "They won't have any trouble now." They had no idea how much Kura's father had wanted him to become a soldier and not a thief.

"I've never seen someone win against that many men," Ryou said, his warm breath pleasantly tickling Kura's ear.

"Hum," Kura said, "You still haven't. What happened to Odion and Malik?" He didn't want to think about the fight. Something unpleasant had happened and though he couldn't remember what it was, he instinctively knew he didn't want to.

But Ryou couldn't be distracted. "No, I suppose not," he agreed, "But you wounded two of them, and I think you killed the last one."

Kura closed his eyes and swallowed hard. That was what he hadn't wanted to remember. Only four soldiers had dismounted at first. Kura chopped one of them on the forearm, then disarmed another and gotten Ryou's sword tangled in his hilt. Had it been a longer sword, Kura wouldn't have been able to get it free, but he managed to clear Ryou's sword in time to stop a trust from someone on his left. Training he had thought he had forgotten turned the block into a lunge, and the sword sank into his opponent, certainly killing him.

Kura had been horrified with himself and dropped the sword. He hadn't wanted to be a soldier. He'd become a thief to avoid killing. And see where it had gotten him.

A light push from behind had forced him forward a half step and he looked down to see the point of a sword sticking through the cloth of his shirt. The point must have entered somewhere around the middle of his back but had slanted to come out near his armpit. The smell of blood and been overwhelming.

"Who taught you to fight like that?" Ryou asked, dragging Kura out of his thoughts.

"My father." Kura frowned slightly when he thought of the fight he and his father had when he tore up his enrollment paper for the army. Still, they were closer now that the matter was settled and done with.

"You should have been a soldier," Ryou said. "You were better than Malik ever was."

Kura felt Ryou's tears on his neck and held the crying boy the best he could with one good arm. As he hadn't wanted to remember what had happened at the bottom of the cliff, so Ryou didn't want to recall what had happened at the top once he had managed to climb up to where the rest of the party were being held.

"I've know Odion all my life," Ryou sniffed, leaving the tears unchecked, "I could tell he was going to try something. He's not one to go quietly. And Malik, he saw it too. Malike hates, hated, being cooped up. That's why he was such a poor student. I think he decided he'd rather die fighting than slowly in a barred cage."

Kura waited for Ryou to take a few breaths. The pain in his chest was slightly distracting, but not so bad that he couldn't ignore it for a little while longer.

"They both attacked the guards," Ryou finally continued. "The Guards restrained the magus before he could draw his sword to help, and they were still holding onto me from when I had gotten up. Odion and Malik were horribly outnumbered. And when space ran out, they were forced over the edge." His breathing was shaky and close to full sobs. "I don't _want_ them to be dead," he insisted, as if his wishes should be granted. "They were my friends."

Kura tried his best to keep his grip on Ryou, knowing it was comforting to the smaller boy, but the pain was spreading and the effort was costing him.

"Kura?" Ryou whispered after a few minutes, "The magus said that the bleeding has stopped and that you'll probably be all right. As long as you don't get a fever."

"That's nice." That way they could behead him.

---------

It was dark when the magus returned. Kura had slept most of the day, waking a few times to always find Ryou still at his side. The sleep had done him good and his head felt clearer, though his body still felt light and weak.

The lanterns the guards carried into the cell when they returned the magus bothered Kura's eyes and he closed them, assuming the men would be gone soon and leave him in peace. When someone nudged him with their boot, he groaned a little, partly because it hurt, partly because he was offended that they were bothering him. There was another fiercer nudge that dug into his ribs, and he heard Ryou yell at someone to stop.

With a suffering sigh, Kura finally opened his eyes. Standing over him, between Kaiba and the guards and with her feet nearly touching Ryou as he sat at Kura's side, was Mai, the Queen of Attolia.

Mai smiled at Kura's surprise. Standing in the light, yet surrounded by the dark that the lanterns couldn't reach, she seemed lit by the aura of the gods. Her long hair flowed like liquid gold down her back. Light catching baubles were woven into the strands and made her shimmer. Her robe was a rich purple and fell off her shoulders like an image of the goddess of romance and love.

"The magus of Sounis has informed me that you are a thief of unsurpassed skills," she spoke, her voice an inviting purr like worn velvet. She smiled.

"I am," Kura answered truthfully. He could only hope that Kaiba hadn't been stupid enough to tell her why they were in her country.

Mai looked Kura up and down, as though trying to figure him out. "He suggests, however, that your loyalty to your own country is not strong," she continued.

Kura winced at her choice of words. "I have no particular loyalty to the king of Sounis, Your Majesty," he corrected.

"How fortunate for you. I don't believe he holds you in high regard."

"No, Your Majesty. He probably doesn't." Not that it mattered, the feeling was mutual.

She smiled again and showed off her perfect teeth. "Then there's nothing to prevent you from remaining in Attolia to be _my_ thief."

Kura nearly choked on his breath. "Uh," he said quickly, "There is one thing, Your Majesty."

Queen Mai's eyebrows rose in delicate arches of astonishment. "What would that be?" she asked, and the warning in her tone was unmistakable.

Kura's mind raced. Discretion prevented him from saying that he thought she was a fiend from the underworld and that mountain lions couldn't force him to enter her service. As he searched, he remembered the conversation on the bank of the river. "I have a sweetheart," he said with absolute conviction, "Your Majesty, and I've promised to return."

The Queen was amused. Ryou's eyes reflected his surprised. And Kaiba was beyond aggravated. Kura knew he couldn't understand why he was throwing away a chance to save himself.

There were certainly no love affairs written up in his record at the king's prison. Kura was sure because he had written his record himself. It had been the easiest way to turn a lot of boasting into a solid reputation, and it hadn't been difficult to slip in it among the real records. Anyone who can steal the king's seal ring can manage the locks on his record room.

"You are promised to someone?" Mai repeated in suspicious disbelief.

_FLASHBACK_

_"Promise?"_

_FLASHBACK_

"I am, Your Majesty," Kura said firmly.

"And you will not break your promise?" She shook her head sadly but Kura could see the annoyance flash in her eyes. She was not someone who was used to people refusing her anything.

"I couldn't, Your Majesty," Kura said, trying to keep from laughing at her.

The Queen folded her arms across her chest and tapped her finger tips impatiently on her sleeve. "Surely I am a better mistress to serve?"

'She's like a snake.' Kura thought. 'Sleek and deadly, just waiting for the chance to strike.' "You are perhaps more beautiful, Your Majesty," Kura allowed, and The Queen smiled again, but the thief wasn't finished. "But not as kind."

Heh, so much for discretion. The smile on her lovely face vanished and her face flushed red. No could ever accuse Queen Mai of Attolia of being kind.

The Queen smiled again, a different, thinner smile, and inclined her head in acceptance of a point scored. Kura smiled back, pleased with himself in a bitter sort of way. Why did he always take such pride in pissing off royalty?

"Come," the Queen said to her guards. "Let's give him some time to change his mind." She nodded curtly to Kaiba and swept out of the room, letting it lapse back into darkness as the door closed behind them.

Kura lay still, listening to the fading footsteps and then to the breathing of the two others in the room. Reaching out in the darkness, his found Ryou's soft face, trailed down his neck and arm to his hand. "Help me up," he said.

Kaiba heard them moving around in the dark and glared over in their direction. "Kura," he snapped, "Lay back down! You should not be up!"

"Can't be helped," Kura said, now near the magus's elbow. "I'm getting out of here."

"The Queen of Attolia doesn't bear you any ill will! If you'd jus corporate-"

"I think she does," Kura interrupted. "I will never serve her, and the alternative is death. Now, you are wasting time. Move." Kura pushed the magus over so that he could inspect the lock on the door. It was so simple it almost made him want to laugh. Reaching back, he untwisted one of his lock openers from in hair. "Always carry a spare," he informed Ryou as he tapped the other boy on the nose with it, and then set to work.

The lock opened without a glitch and the three of them moved into the hall, closing the cell door behind them. The hall was as dark as the cell had been, and Kura took Ryou's hand. "Try not to pull on me," he whispered and began to feel his way down the corridor.

"We are going to get caught," Kaiba hissed, taking Ryou's other hand so that they didn't get separated in the dark. "Where are you taking us?"

"Would you just shut up!?"

Kura felt his way down the corridors until his hand brushed against a door handle. He quickly squeezed Ryou's hand to stop him from running into him, and quickly opened it. The tunnel before him was only as wide as the door and the ceiling barely higher than Kaiba's head.

At the end of the tunnel was another door with a simple latch. Once past it, they found themselves outside the castle on the narrow footing that ran around it's base. The water that surrounded the castled lapped at the stone with an almost soothing rhythm. Quick as shadows, they scrambled around the castled and to the bridge that led to the town.

Without starlight and an absent moon, it was easy to slip through the town unnoticed. Not even the dogs chained to front gates seemed to be bothered by the three young men that stole like thieves past the houses.

A few miles from the town, the trail they were following branched off in two directions and Kura chose the one that kept them closer to the river. He felt weak, but his head was clear. The pain in his body seemed almost distant except for when he stumbled.

They saw no one on the road, which was a good thing. They had a best only a seven hour lead ahead of the Attolian Guard that would be deployed when they were discovered missing.

It was almost dawn when they decided to stop for a few hours of much needed rest. The ground was cold, but Ryou, who curled up against Kura's chest, was warm and the thief fell asleep quickly.

When Kura opened his eyes again it was light out. Ryou was still dreaming, one of his hands twisted in Kura's shirt, and Kaiba was looking at the river. Kura called to him and when he turned, his face was bleak. Little birds began to peck in Kura's stomach. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"The river is running the wrong way."

Kura nearly threw up before his head caught up to him. He had thought that the magus had meant that the river had truly reversed its direction. He only meant that he had been mistaken during the night about which way it was flowing.

"Don't worry," Kura said as he reluctantly pulled himself to his feet. "I know where we are. Just let me lead."

"I think we should go back," Kaiba insisted. "Find a different trail, one that leads to the main roads."

"No," Kura said, shaking Ryou awake for the next leg of their flight. "If the guards catch up to us, I'll be throwing myself in the river. You can do as you wish, but I refuse to be her prisoner."

-----------

"Kura?" Ryou chatted as they walked along, their bodies warming in the sunlight, "If you could be anywhere you wanted right now, where would it be?"

"In bed," Kura sighed wearily. His injuries were acting up again and he was starting to feel too hot and yet cold at the same time. "In a big bed, in a warm room with lots of windows. And sheets; cool, clean sheets. The really nice ones like they sell on the Sacred Way that smell vaguely like they've been washed in lavender. And a fireplace," he said as he expanded on the daydream. "And books."

"Books?" Ryou repeated, both surprised and delighted.

"Books," Kura said firmly, not caring if Kaiba thought it was odd. Hell, Kaiba probably assumed he couldn't read in the first place. "Lots of books. What about you? Where would you be?"

"Under the apricot tree in my mother's garden at the villa," Ryou said peacefully. "She plays her harp in the evenings when the lightening bugs come out. The air is sweet and the breeze is cool. I'd be watching my sister Amane play, stopping her game every now and then to chase the light bugs. And anytime I wanted one, I'd just reach up and pick another apricot."

"Humm," Kura mused, "I like that one. Okay, I want to be there with you, instead."

Ryou grinned and blushed slightly. "What about you, magus?" he asked, turning back to his teacher. "Where would you be?"

Kaiba stayed quiet for so long that for a moment Kura thought he wasn't going to answer the question. "I'd been in the main temple," he said at last.

"Urgh," Kura complained, still associating the temple with boredom-a lot of people chanting and incense everywhere. His new belief in the gods had not affected his opinion of the empty mumblings he had seen in temples all his life.

But Kaiba wasn't finished. "Watching the marriage of the King of Sounis and the Queen of Eddis."

Kura made a face. "Why are you so set on this marriage?" he demanded.

"The king needs an heir, and that heir needs to inherit Eddis as well as Sounis."

"He does have a cousin," Ryou pointed out.

"I'm sorry," Kaiba said, "Of course he has an heir. But he must marry the Queen if he is to combine the countries. Eddis doesn't like him, but if the Queen had his child, they would have no choice to but allow him to take the rule of the country."

"Then I hope that your little dream never comes true," Kura snarled. "If the two countries were ever to be combined it should be because they want to. NOT because one is forced to accept the other."

"It's none of your business to worry about the fate of Eddis," Kaiba said, a bit miffed. "You just concern yourself with Attolia."

Had Kura been feeling better, he would have sulked, but he needed to concentrate all his energy on simply putting one foot in front of the other. Especially since the ground kept rising and the trail became less and less of any real kind of path and covered with rocks of varying sizes.

One of these rocks Kaiba had Ryou climb and look behind them for the perusing soldiers.

"I see them," Ryou called down. "They're coming single file through the rocks. Maybe twenty minutes away." He scrambled down and twisted his hands nervously. "What do we do?"

Kaiba shrugged wearily and ran a hand through his hair. "We can leave the path," he suggested. "We can hide somewhere in the rocks." It was a hopeless plan, and they all knew it.

"There is a bridge not far from here," Kura said, pushing himself up from where he had sat to rest. "We are far enough ahead of the Queen's Guard, we can make it."

Just a little ways up river was a place where the water was split by an island of rock. Debris dragged into the river from the floor season were lodged against the rocks, including a tree trunk that stretched from the bank to the pile of rocks in the center of the river and a collection of branches that went from the rocks to the far bank.

Kaiba looked doubtfully at the make shift bridge with a critical eye. "Do you think we can get across?"

"Yes," Kura answered more confidently than he felt. "Ryou, you go first. Don't try to walk, creep across on your hand and knees. And don't slip. The river runs fastest at this narrow point. You'd be dragged under in a heartbeat."

Ryou nodded, his face very pale, and began his crossing as fast and as safe as he could. Very second was vital for survival.

As soon as Ryou was on the rocky island in the middle, Kaiba began to cross. Behind them they could hear the approaching soldiers who had dismounted from the horses to go faster on foot.

Once Kaiba got to the rocks, Kura began to cross even as he heard the Guards shout for him to halt. As he reached the rocks, Kaiba began to push the log, and together they dislodged it even as the first soldier was starting to cross.

The Attolian soldiers stood for a second looking at the fast moving river, and then cursed viciously and turned back up the trail.

"Move," Kura snapped, pushing Kaiba in the direction of the second bridge. "They will go downriver and try to cross at the main bridge."

Remembering that they weren't out of danger yet, Kaiba quickly began to cross the next the second bridge. Ryou fidgeted nervously, already safe on the bank.

Kura glanced back at where the Guards had stood only a moment before and moved onto the last bridge. The branches dipped dangerously close to the water, but they held his weight to the bank where Ryou grabbed his good hand and helped him up.

"Let's go," Kura panted. "We have to keep moving." He tried to take a step forward, but he stumbled and had to catch himself on a nearby tree. Almost instantly there was a warmth at his side and Ryou slipped under his good shoulder to support him.

"I'm okay," Kura tried to assure Ryou, "Just a little dizzy."

With Ryou helping him along, they trudged on. The ground continued to rise, sometimes in not so gentle slopes. Finally the trail simply gave out and a bridge stretched out in before them.

Without a glance back, they started to cross it. Just as they reached the top of the stone arch, Kaiba stopped and turned around. Had he ears like a horse, they would have swiveled forward.

"What is it?" Kura asked.

"Hoofbeats."

Kura, Ryou, and Kaiba crossed over the bridge and walked directly into the soldiers on the other side.

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TBC

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Author's Note: Answering Questions and Such

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Heh heh, yup Kelsey, I know the part in the show you're talking about. It's actually a very funny movie, if the other people in the room would be quite long enough to listen to what the characters are saying!

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Mokuba's Official Glomper, yes, a lot of my stories are book based because I love to read and I always seem to want to place other characters in the roles. It's fun! Yes, that's one of the things I do for fun. (cries)

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Story is almost done people! Only a few chapters left. Until next week!

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The Inspector

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	15. The Thief

The Thief

By The Inspector

Chapter 15

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Disclaimer: Never have owned. Never have made money. Please don't sue me. Thanks and enjoy the story.

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WARNING!!WARNING!! There is boy on boy kissing in this chapter! You have been warned! If you don't want to read that, wait until next week when I'll put up an edited version of this chapter.

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Scattered around the base of the bridge were soldiers gathered in about three main groups playing dice, sleeping, and doing whatever it is soldiers do while off duty. Two guards were sitting on the stone pillars at the end of the bridge as Kura and the others arrived

For a moment all the two guards could do was stare. Then they smirked. They both jumped down and one planted his spear at his side, looking suddenly crisp and military while the other ran to find his captain.

No one said a word while they waited. The other soldiers didn't even trouble themselves to look up from their dice games. When the captain arrived, he didn't have much more to say than his guards. He simply looked them over.

Kura shifted his weight as he leaned on Ryou for support and felt the smaller boy's heart beating like a frantic bird. "Don't worry," Kura whispered into Ryou's ear, "These are the Eddisian Guard."

The captain let out a small chuckle and shook his head. Turning to Kaiba he said, "Welcome to Eddis." Then he motioned his lieutenant over. "Honda, get horses," he said, "And four or five guards to take them. This is not for us to figure out."

A few soldiers noticed the movement by the bridge and head began to turn. The signs of relaxation vanished and the men suddenly became professional, eager and suspicious. By the time the lieutenant came back with the horses, the hoofbeats that Kaiba had heard behind them had been heard by the guards as well.

"That would be the Attolian Guard," Kaiba said, expecting to be handed right over to them and taken back to prison. The Queen of Attolia was not going to be in a good mood when they returned, and he feared for all their heads.

The captain glanced over at Kura and then sighed. "I'll deal with them," the captain said to the lieutenant. Then he signaled to more of his guards and tramped away.

Pushing the three weary travelers over to the horses, some soldier tugged Ryou away from Kura and swung him up onto a horse even as he tried to cling to his companion. Someone reached for Kura to do the same, but the thief swiveled around and sagged to his knees, tucking his arms in close to keep anyone from pulling on him.

"Stop! Don't do that!" Ryou shouted at the soldier who reached again for Kura, and his voice broke as he struggled to get down from the horse.

One of the soldiers looked a little closer at Kura's slightly green face and suggested that someone find a blanket. A soldier brought one, wrapped Kura in it, and lifted the thief up gently into Ryou's arms.

With a great sigh, Kura settled against Ryou, his nose against his collarbone, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

In and out of sleep for what remained of the day, Kura found himself being shaken awake when the reached the palace, long past midnight. The main courtyard was lit with lanterns, but most of the windows were dark.

Everyone climbed down from his horse, and someone helped Kura to the ground. After that there was a lot of hemming and hawing, and no one really knew what to do. Ryou came and tucked himself under Kura's good shoulder and Kaiba stood behind them. All the others sided a little farther away as though they were afraid that the travelers' troubles might be contagious.

Finally someone opened the heavy double doors that led to the entrance hall and they all trouped in. The clatter of boots on the marble floors announced their arrival to anyone who hadn't heard the all noise in the courtyard.

Servants and passing residents appeared at the tops of the two staircases to see what the commotion was about. Kura was sure he heard a few snickers and he _knew_ that he saw several fingers pointed in classless amusement.

The great group of travelers and soldiers moved in the direction of the lights still burning in the lesser throne room. As they moved past the stairs, the people there came down and followed, anxious to see what would happen next.

By the time they actually made it into the brightly lit throne room, Kura felt like the center of a traveling circus. All that was missing were the dancing bears and freaky midgets. And he knew there was one of those somewhere around the palace.

As they entered the throne room, Kura searched for the Queen. But she was not on sitting on the throne. True, guarded by two gold griffons on either side, the throne was not empty, but the young male stretched lazily out on it was certainly not the Queen. His long legs dangled over the armrest to fit comfortably in the seat and a trail of drool trickled from the corner of his mouth to the floor.

At the raised hearth in front of the throne, a group of women were sitting and talking and playing Go with a short boy with vibrant hair that defied the natural laws of gravity. A few other males lounged in the back and someone was playing a flute. As the people tramped into the room, one of the women stood up.

If the Queen of Attolia was fire and passion, the Queen of Eddis was ice and serenity. She had long black hair that gleamed like a raven's wing when the lamp light hit it just right and her skin was a light copper tone. Unlike the sultry Queen Mai, Queen Isis stood strong and proud like a soldier.

The Queen of Eddis stepped forward from the gaggle of women and raised one hand and quirked an eyebrow at the noisy crowd. There was an almost instant silence and the soldiers around Kura, Ryou, and Kaiba stepped hastily aside.

Isis took one look at them and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as if trying to banish an oncoming headache. "Bakura," she said with irritation and perfect understanding, "What did you do this time?"

Kura looked down at his feet, ignoring how his face was heating up in embarrassment and the infuriating chuckle that spread around the room. He was tired and felt oddly light, like he could be blown away like a cloud. But not so tired as to not feel chagrin for once again providing a spectacle for the entire court of Eddis and embarrassing his Queen. Still, he'd never been so happy to hear his own name.

Beside Kura, Kaiba stiffened suddenly at the greeting and Kura was a little annoyed because he had wanted to see the normally cool and collected magus of Sounis lose his composure. But Ryou gaped at him in an oddly heartwarming way and he was satisfied.

With a sigh, Isis retreated to her throne, pushed the boy sleeping there off, and sat down, impatiently tapping her nails on the armrest while waiting for an explanation.

The boy who had been forced to vacate his sleeping spot hit the ground with a thud and rolled a few times before he yawned and opened his eyes. Then they widened and he sat up with a shock. "Yugi!" he squealed, grabbing the boy from where he had just challenged Anzu to a game of Go, "Look! Bakura is home! I TOLD you he wouldn't get eaten by a mountain lion!"

"Well," Yugi defended himself, "It was more likely than him dying by getting hit with a falling chamber pot."

"It could happen," Marik insisted stubbornly as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Gee guys," Kura groused sarcastically as he nudged Ryou to take him forward, "Glad to see you have so much faith in me."

Yugi smiled and shrugged. "What are brothers for?"

"To drive me crazy," Kura replied promptly as he approached the throne. He knew Isis was angry with him because he had disappeared several months before without warning. But she was only angry because she had been worried about him.

"You've got a lot to explain, cousin," Isis said as Kura stopped in front of her. "Especially since you show up now with the magus of Sounis in tow and coming from Attolia. What _have_ you been up to?"

Rather than try to explain, Kura reached back under his hair with his good hand to free the thong tied at the base of his neck. It was the shorter of the two Odion had given him at the river. Trying to get the knot undone one-handed didn't really work and several long strands of his own silvery hair came along with the thong when he finally pulled it free.

Glancing back quickly over his shoulder, Kura was delighted to see Kaiba's mouth open in astonishment

"Kura," Kaiba said under his breath, "You viper!"

Dangling in Kura's hand by the leather loop was Horus's Gift. It had nestled hidden in his hair since he'd placed it there after the fighting with the Attolian scouts. As soon as he'd seen the riders attacking, he had moved his horse until he was close enough to cut the thong around Kaiba's neck with the penknife he'd stolen a day or two out of prison.

Kaiba had been too distracted to notice and had assumed later, as Kura had known he would, that the thong had been sliced by a sword stoke and that the Gift had dropped into the stream.

Now the Gift swung back and forth, the light catching the sapphire within the stone and causing the carved letters of Horus's name to almost hover bright blue in the air.

Kura knew he had a speech to make now. He had composed it on the way down to Sounis and practiced it over and over while in prison. But now, he couldn't remember any of it. He was so tired. He had fulfilled his job to his cousin as the Queen's Thief and secured her throne from being taken from her.

Releasing Horus's Gift into her hand, darkness rushed in and claimed him and he fell to the floor without saying a word.

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---------I was so tempted to just stop here-------------

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Bakura slept for a long time. The darkness was quiet and cool and when he woke up, he was in his own bed dressed in his own clean nightclothes. Pushing himself up, he brushed his hand back and forth across the soft sheets. They were as fine as anything sold in Sounis because all of Sounis's best linens were woven in Eddis.

Comfortable and warm, Bakura lay still and looked around his familiar room and made a mental checklist of all his stuff. He knew that Yugi wouldn't take any of his things, but Marik was a notorious klepto.

"Kura?"

Bakura turned and smirked at the person standing hesitantly at the door. "It's Bakura," he corrected proudly. "It's a family name."

"So I've heard." Ryou shifted against the door, and grinned shyly. "It's a very nice name."

Laughing, Bakura shook his head and motioned Ryou over to his side. "What have I missed?" he asked as he scooted over to make room for Ryou next to him on the bed.

"Well," Ryou started once he was situated next to the thief and had folded his hands in his lap, "You've been asleep for days. We were worried you would never wake up. The doctor said that rest was probably the best thing for you. But we were all concerned. And then your brother…Marik?"

"Marik," Bakura nodded, "The psycho one."

"Well, Marik began wailing about how you were going to die, die, die until you were dead, and then he saw me and started screaming that I was your ghost come back to haunt him."

Bakura snickered and pat Ryou's cheek affectionately. "Sounds like you've met the whole crazy family now. Are you traumatized?"

"Oh, thoroughly," Ryou giggled, "Especially since I had my own run in with ghosts." At Bakura's blank stare he laughed harder. "Odion and Malik are alive!" he declared. "Odion broke his arm, and Malik's got a few scrapes, but they're okay. After they went over the edge of the cliff, Odion was able to grab onto some jutting rock. The Eddisian Guard found them and brought them here two days before we got here."

"That's wonderful," Bakura said, "I'm glad, for you, that they are alright. I never liked Malik, but Odion was an okay person." Then he looked up and saw Ryou starring at him. "What?" he asked, "Do I have blood on my face or something?"

"No," Ryou said blushing, "It's just, you sound different."

"Ah," Bakura said in understanding. "I do believe I once said that gutter was a dialect to be learned." He grinned. "It just about KILLED me at prison. I am sick and tired of being dirty, of getting sick on cheep wine, of talking with my mouth half closed and chewing with it half open, and having BUGS in my hair. I was going mad the whole trip!" He shrugged with one shoulder. "Turns out, I'm a spoiled little palace brat, just like you."

"Humm," Ryou said with a small smile, "I think I still may be a bit more spoiled than you."

Bakura grinned wickedly and pulled Ryou closer to him. "Does it really matter? Rank, position, blood lines…they don't mean anything except for the importance people place on them."

Ryou smiled and threw his arms around Bakura's neck, hugging him with all his strength. After a surprised second, the Queen's Thief relaxed and returned the embrace. "I'm going to miss you," Ryou admitted sadly. "I've grown quite attached to you, Bakura."

Bakura felt a thrilled shiver go down his spine as his name dropped from Ryou's mouth like honey. "Say it again," he implored. "My name."

Ryou chuckled sadly and pressed his face into Bakura's good shoulder. "Bakura," he said. "I went to see your family shrine for your patron. I loved the large, carved emerald earrings."

Bakura snickered. "Someone told you about the Duchess," he teased. "Boy she was mad. She never even saw me take them right out from under her nose."

"You are terrible," Ryou giggled. "But somehow I like you anyway."

"Well, that's good to know." Bakura smiled and placed one hand gently on Ryou's cheek, tilting his face towards him. Ryou flushed prettily and covered Bakura's hand with his own.

The first kiss was timid and shy, there and gone like a brush of butterfly wings. A not-kiss that quickened hearts and made every sense almost painfully sensitive.

Ryou and Bakura stared at each other for a long moment, each pale face on fire, and then Ryou giggled nervously, breaking the trance. He ducked his head and stared at his lap even as the very tips of his ears turned pink.

It was the cutest thing Bakura had ever seen.

Leaning forward, Bakura kissed him again, slower and properly this time so that he could feel every giddy tingle where their skin met. And Ryou pressed himself into his arms, warm and affectionate.

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Kaiba walked calmly along side the Eddisian Queen, keeping his facial features carefully schooled. Right behind him Odion kept an even pace and only his bandaged arm in its sling gave evidence to any misadventure that he suffered.

"Your Thief is a smart one," Seto allowed the Queen, "When he didn't find the stone or records about it, he knew that we couldn't have obtained it yet. So he decided to create a reputation for himself as a Sounisian thief of great abilities. He mentioned an Eddisian mother in forged court records to hide any trace of an accent he couldn't hide. After everything was in place, he took the Seal to draw my attention. He must have hoped that I would need a proficient but anonymous thief whose absence wouldn't be noticed."

Isis shook her head. "Smart," she repeated, "Or just stupid. He calls these kinds of things, 'professional risks.' Of course, I will admit, he's done very well with this one. With one move, he's secured my throne _and_ brought me the heir of my enemy."

Kaiba sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I assure you, Yami will consent to whatever ransom you ask for his cousin."

"Of course," Odion added, "Ryou doesn't really consider himself being held against his will. He told me yesterday that he refuses to LEAVE until he knows that Kura is on the mend."

"His devotion to my cousin surprises me," Isis allowed, "Bakura is very difficult to get along with. He's managed to earn the dislike of more than half of his relatives. He's not the most tactful of people."

"So I know," Kaiba mumbled under his breath.

"Did you ever suspect?" Isis inquired, not hiding her amusement, "That he wasn't what he claimed to be?"

"Not really," Kaiba answered after a slight hesitation. "But I should have. His extensive knowledge of Eddisian history, politics, and mythology, his name, how he knew that a tree trunk could take us across the river, how the guard at the bridge seemed to know him and was welcoming Ryou and I as if we were Kura's guests. And the Queen of Attolia. I think she recognized him."

"You may have also recognized him," Isis said, "But when you came last time with Yami's proposal, he was in his room sulking over some trifle."

"I knew," Odion said thoughtfully, "Since he thanked me for a few ossil berries. He was careless and used a common Eddisian phrase that no lowly thief from Sounis would know. And then there was the fact that his sword abilities were clearly Eddisian trained."

"You might have told me," Kaiba growled. But Odion shrugged.

"It wasn't my place to tell," he said. "But I did not know that he had taken the Gift from you. I was sure it had fallen in the water, or I would have searched him."

"In any rate," Kaiba sighed, "All my plans are ruined. Yami will be disappointed, and now there is no hope to combine the two countries."

"Your Majesty," Odion interrupted suddenly, "Who is next in line for your throne should you pass away or decide to step down, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Marik," Isis admitted, "And upon his psychiatric evaluation, which he will fail, rule goes to Bakura." She paused thoughtfully for a moment before asking, "Why?"

Odion gave her a rare smile and then nodded to the open door. "Because I believe that there may still be a way to combine Eddis and Sounis into one country."

"What?" Kaiba demanded, "Odion, what are you saying? It's over."

Isis peeked inside the room and then grinned brightly. "Oh magus," she giggled, a strange sound coming from the proper queen, "Look."

Kaiba glanced over and his mouth dropped open in pure, undiluted shock. "You've got to be kidding me," he groaned. "Is my whole group against me? Do you _realize_ how ticked off Yami is going to be when I get back and tell him about this?"

Bakura broke the kiss when the need to breathe got too great looked down at the pretty boy in his arms. Ryou smiled back and then he nestled his head on Bakura's good shoulder with a pleased sigh escaping from his soft pink lips.

Falling for the magus's youngest apprentice had never been part of the plan. His prize was to be the fame that went along with stealing the Gift. This was an accident. Accidentally in love. Who would have guessed? Bakura hugged Ryou closer and thanked the gods for stupid plans.

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The End.

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The Inspector

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Based on the book by Megan Whalen Turner

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Author's Note: Answering Questions and Such

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Before anyone asks, yes, in the real book, the character that is the thief IS the Queen's Thief of Eddis. After I found that out, I went back and read the book and sure enough, all the hints were there. In the book, Odion and Malik's characters died, and STAYED dead. But I liked them too much to keep them that way, this time.

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Amarin Rose, that mistake there was actually MY fault. I couldn't remember how to spell Ryou's sister's name and left a blank there to fill in later. But I forgot about it. Thanks for point it out so I could go fix it!

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DarkShadowFlame, see!? I didn't leave Rishid/Odion dead! I couldn't. He's just too cool to leave dead in this one.

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Mokuba's Official Glomper, I'm going to look for that book next time I go to the book store!

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And now, I think I've gotten every main character into this story some way or another.

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Thank you everyone! And please review.

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The Inspector


	16. Alternative Ch 15

The Thief

By The Inspector

Chapter 15, Alternative

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Disclaimer: Never have owned. Never have made money. Please don't sue me. Thanks and enjoy the story.

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This is the no shonen-ai version of the previous chapter. It is NOT a double post of the same chapter. Enjoy.

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OOOOOOOO

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Scattered around the base of the bridge were soldiers gathered in about three main groups playing dice, sleeping, and doing whatever it is soldiers do while off duty. Two guards were sitting on the stone pillars at the end of the bridge as Kura and the others arrived

For a moment all the two guards could do was stare. Then they smirked. They both jumped down and one planted his spear at his side, looking suddenly crisp and military while the other ran to find his captain.

No one said a word while they waited. The other soldiers didn't even trouble themselves to look up from their dice games. When the captain arrived, he didn't have much more to say than his guards. He simply looked them over.

Kura shifted his weight as he leaned on Ryou for support and felt the smaller boy's heart beating like a frantic bird. "Don't worry," Kura whispered into Ryou's ear, "These are the Eddisian Guard."

The captain let out a small chuckle and shook his head. Turning to Kaiba he said, "Welcome to Eddis." Then he motioned his lieutenant over. "Otogi, get horses," he said, "And four or five guards to take them. This is not for us to figure out."

A few soldiers noticed the movement by the bridge and head began to turn. The signs of relaxation vanished and the men suddenly became professional, eager and suspicious. By the time the lieutenant came back with the horses, the hoofbeats that Kaiba had heard behind them had been heard by the guards as well.

"That would be the Attolian Guard," Kaiba said, expecting to be handed right over to them and taken back to prison. The Queen of Attolia was not going to be in a good mood when they returned, and he feared for all their heads.

The captain glanced over at Kura and then sighed. "I'll deal with them," the captain said to the lieutenant. Then he signaled to more of his guards and tramped away.

Pushing the three weary travelers over to the horses, some soldier tugged Ryou away from Kura and swung him up onto a horse even as he tried to cling to his companion. Someone reached for Kura to do the same, but the thief swiveled around and sagged to his knees, tucking his arms in close to keep anyone from pulling on him.

"Stop! Don't do that!" Ryou shouted at the soldier who reached again for Kura, and his voice broke as he struggled to get down from the horse.

One of the soldiers looked a little closer at Kura's slightly green face and suggested that someone find a blanket. A soldier brought one, wrapped Kura in it, and lifted the thief up gently into Ryou's arms.

With a great sigh, Kura settled against Ryou, his nose against his collarbone, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

In and out of sleep for what remained of the day, Kura found himself being shaken awake when the reached the palace, long past midnight. The main courtyard was lit with lanterns, but most of the windows were dark.

Everyone climbed down from his horse, and someone helped Kura to the ground. After that there was a lot of hemming and hawing, and no one really knew what to do. Ryou came and tucked himself under Kura's good shoulder and Kaiba stood behind them. All the others sided a little farther away as though they were afraid that the travelers' troubles might be contagious.

Finally someone opened the heavy double doors that led to the entrance hall and they all trouped in. The clatter of boots on the marble floors announced their arrival to anyone who hadn't heard the all noise in the courtyard.

Servants and passing residents appeared at the tops of the two staircases to see what the commotion was about. Kura was sure he heard a few snickers and he _knew_ that he saw several fingers pointed in classless amusement.

The great group of travelers and soldiers moved in the direction of the lights still burning in the lesser throne room. As they moved past the stairs, the people there came down and followed, anxious to see what would happen next.

By the time they actually made it into the brightly lit throne room, Kura felt like the center of a traveling circus. All that was missing were the dancing bears and freaky midgets. And he knew there was one of those somewhere around the palace.

As they entered the throne room, Kura searched for the Queen. But she was not on sitting on the throne. True, guarded by two gold griffons on either side, the throne was not empty, but the young male stretched lazily out on it was certainly not the Queen. His long legs dangled over the armrest to fit comfortably in the seat and a trail of drool trickled from the corner of his mouth to the floor.

At the raised hearth in front of the throne, a group of women were sitting and talking and playing Go with a short boy with vibrant hair that defied the natural laws of gravity. A few other males lounged in the back and someone was playing a flute. As the people tramped into the room, one of the women stood up.

If the Queen of Attolia was fire and passion, the Queen of Eddis was ice and serenity. She had long black hair that gleamed like a raven's wing when the lamp light hit it just right and her skin was a light copper tone. Unlike the sultry Queen Mai, Queen Isis stood strong and proud like a soldier.

The Queen of Eddis stepped forward from the gaggle of women and raised one hand and quirked an eyebrow at the noisy crowd. There was an almost instant silence and the soldiers around Kura, Ryou, and Kaiba stepped hastily aside.

Isis took one look at them and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as if trying to banish an oncoming headache. "Bakura," she said with irritation and perfect understanding, "What did you do this time?"

Kura looked down at his feet, ignoring how his face was heating up in embarrassment and the infuriating chuckle that spread around the room. He was tired and felt oddly light, like he could be blown away like a cloud. But not so tired as to not feel chagrin for once again providing a spectacle for the entire court of Eddis and embarrassing his Queen. Still, he'd never been so happy to hear his own name.

Beside Kura, Kaiba stiffened suddenly at the greeting and Kura was a little annoyed because he had wanted to see the normally cool and collected magus of Sounis lose his composure. But Ryou gaped at him in an oddly heartwarming way and he was satisfied.

With a sigh, Isis retreated to her throne, pushed the boy sleeping there off, and sat down, impatiently tapping her nails on the armrest while waiting for an explanation.

The boy who had been forced to vacate his sleeping spot hit the ground with a thud and rolled a few times before he yawned and opened his eyes. Then they widened and he sat up with a shock. "Yugi!" he squealed, grabbing the boy from where he had just challenged Anzu to a game of Go, "Look! Bakura is home! I TOLD you he wouldn't get eaten by a mountain lion!"

"Well," Yugi defended himself, "It was more likely than him dying by getting hit with a falling chamber pot."

"It could happen," Marik insisted stubbornly as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Gee guys," Kura groused sarcastically as he nudged Ryou to take him forward, "Glad to see you have so much faith in me."

Yugi smiled and shrugged. "What are brothers for?"

"To drive me crazy," Kura replied promptly as he approached the throne. He knew Isis was angry with him because he had disappeared several months before without warning. But she was only angry because she had been worried about him.

"You've got a lot to explain, cousin," Isis said as Kura stopped in front of her. "Especially since you show up now with the magus of Sounis in tow and coming from Attolia. What _have_ you been up to?"

Rather than try to explain, Kura reached back under his hair with his good hand to free the thong tied at the base of his neck. It was the shorter of the two Odion had given him at the river. Trying to get the knot undone one-handed didn't really work and several long strands of his own silvery hair came along with the thong when he finally pulled it free.

Glancing back quickly over his shoulder, Kura was delighted to see Kaiba's mouth open in astonishment

"Kura," Kaiba said under his breath, "You viper!"

Dangling in Kura's hand by the leather loop was Horus's Gift. It had nestled hidden in his hair since he'd placed it there after the fighting with the Attolian scouts. As soon as he'd seen the riders attacking, he had moved his horse until he was close enough to cut the thong around Kaiba's neck with the penknife he'd stolen a day or two out of prison.

Kaiba had been too distracted to notice and had assumed later, as Kura had known he would, that the thong had been sliced by a sword stoke and that the Gift had dropped into the stream.

Now the Gift swung back and forth, the light catching the sapphire within the stone and causing the carved letters of Horus's name to almost hover bright blue in the air.

Kura knew he had a speech to make now. He had composed it on the way down to Sounis and practiced it over and over while in prison. But now, he couldn't remember any of it. He was so tired. He had fulfilled his job to his cousin as the Queen's Thief and secured her throne from being taken from her.

Releasing Horus's Gift into her hand, darkness rushed in and claimed him and he fell to the floor without saying a word.

---------I was so tempted to just stop here-------------

Bakura slept for a long time. The darkness was quiet and cool and when he woke up, he was in his own bed dressed in his own clean nightclothes. Pushing himself up, he brushed his hand back and forth across the soft sheets. They were as fine as anything sold in Sounis because all of Sounis's best linens were woven in Eddis.

Comfortable and warm, Bakura lay still and looked around his familiar room and made a mental checklist of all his stuff. He knew that Yugi wouldn't take any of his things, but Marik was a notorious klepto.

"Kura?"

Bakura turned and smirked at the person standing hesitantly at the door. "It's Bakura," he corrected proudly. "It's a family name."

"So I've heard." Ryou shifted against the door, and grinned shyly. "It's a very nice name."

Laughing, Bakura shook his head and motioned Ryou over to his side. "What have I missed?" he asked as he scooted over to make room for Ryou next to him on the bed.

"Well," Ryou started once he was situated next to the thief and had folded his hands in his lap, "You've been asleep for days. We were worried you would never wake up. The doctor said that rest was probably the best thing for you. But we were all concerned. And then your brother…Marik?"

"Marik," Bakura nodded, "The psycho one."

"Well, Marik began wailing about how you were going to die, die, die until you were dead, and then he saw me and started screaming that I was your ghost come back to haunt him."

Bakura snickered and lay back down. "Sounds like you've met the whole crazy family now. Are you traumatized?"

"Oh, thoroughly," Ryou giggled, "Especially since I had my own run in with ghosts." At Bakura's blank stare he laughed harder. "Odion and Malik are alive!" he declared. "Odion broke his arm, and Malik's got a few scrapes, but they're okay. After they went over the edge of the cliff, Odion was able to grab onto some jutting rock. The Eddisian Guard found them and brought them here two days before we got here."

"That's wonderful," Bakura said, "I'm glad, for you, that they are alright. I never liked Malik, but Odion was an okay person."

"I heard that."

Bakura and Ryou looked up as Malik, looking none the worse for wear let himself into the room, followed closely by Odion and Kaiba. The magus kept his facial features carefully schooled and beside him only Odion's bandaged arm in its sling gave evidence to any misadventure that he suffered.

"You sound funny," Malik said, hopping up onto Bakura's bed on the other side. He poked the injured thief in the chest. "You eat something bad?"

"No, you idiot," Bakura growled, pushing Malik's hand away. "I do believe I once said that gutter was a dialect to be learned. This is how I actually talk."

Malik shook his head in slow disbelief. "So after all this time, you're a spoiled palace brat, just like Ryou."

"Yeah," Bakura sneered, "It just about KILLED me at prison. I am sick and tired of being dirty, of getting sick on cheep wine, of talking with my mouth half closed and chewing with it half open, and having BUGS in my hair. I've been going mad the whole trip!"

Ryou laughed and shook his head. "How on earth did you manage it?" he asked. "I'm not sure that I really understand it yet."

"I think I know," Kaiba said with a scowl, "When he didn't find the stone or records about it in my office, he knew that we couldn't have obtained it yet. So he decided to create a reputation for himself as a Sounisian thief of notable abilities. He mentioned an Eddisian mother in forged court records to hide any trace of an accent he couldn't hide. After everything was in place, he took the Seal to draw my attention. He must have hoped that I would need a proficient but anonymous thief whose absence wouldn't be noticed."

Bakura smirked importantly. "And it worked, didn't it? Just another professional risk in the life of being a professional Thief."

"Indeed," Kaiba allowed with an annoyed sigh. "In one fell swoop, you've secured your cousin's throne _and_ handed her the heir of her enemy."

For a second Bakura's self-satisfied smirk remained on his face, and then it fell. "Wait," he said, his mind trying to clarify, "Yami's heir? But who-"

Malik broke down in laughter. "He doesn't know!" he crowed. "He came all this way, and he doesn't know!"

"Someone explain this to me before I strangle Malik with my bare hands!" Bakura demanded.

"Ryou is Yami's cousin," Odion explained patiently. "Their fathers were brothers."

Bakura starred at Ryou in shock. "Are you serious? Your father the Duke is Yami's uncle?" he asked.

"What, you didn't know?" Ryou said, mildly amused.

"I did not!"

Ryou laughed and shook his head. "Bakura," he said. "I went to see your family shrine for your patron. I loved the large, carved emerald earrings."

Bakura snickered. "Someone told you about the Duchess," he teased. "Boy she was mad. She never even saw me take them right out from under her nose."

"So you use your skills even among your kin?" Kaiba asked. "Is no one safe from you?"

"No one," Bakura said. "Did you ever suspect?" His eyes gleamed wickedly with amusement. "That I wasn't what I claimed to be?"

"Not really," Kaiba answered after a slight hesitation. "But I should have. Your extensive knowledge of Eddisian history, politics, and mythology, your name, how you knew that a tree trunk could take us across the river, how the guard at the bridge seemed to know you and was welcoming Ryou and I as if we were your guests. And the Queen of Attolia. I think she recognized you."

"She did," Bakura said with a shiver, "But she wasn't about to inform you about it. You may have also recognized me," he added, "But when you came last time with Yami's proposal, I was in my room sulking over something."

"I knew," Odion said thoughtfully, surprising everyone, "Since you thanked me for a few ossil berries." He shook his head at Bakura. "You were careless and used a common Eddisian phrase that no lowly thief from Sounis would know. And then there was the fact that your sword abilities are clearly Eddisian trained."

"You might have told me," Kaiba growled as Bakura collapsed with laughter. But Odion shrugged.

"It wasn't my place to tell," he said. "But I did not know that he had taken the Gift from you. I was sure it had fallen in the water, or I would have searched him."

"I was counting on that," Bakura said smugly. "If we hadn't been so hurried, I would have never gotten away with it before it was found on me."

"In any rate," Kaiba interrupted with a sigh, "All my plans are ruined. Yami will be disappointed."

"Oh, poor Yami," Bakura said rolling his eyes. "He just better hope that Isis never does something stupid like giving her next-in-line the rule of this country."

"Why?" Kaiba asked suspiciously.

"Because," Bakura said, "It's Marik. And upon his psychiatric evaluation, which he will fail, rule goes to me." He smiled to himself for a moment before continuing, "And I will kick his ass. He's got payback coming to him."

"What if it wasn't Yami who was ruling?" Kaiba said, his mind working quickly and already miles ahead of them all.

"Huh?" Bakura blinked blankly. "If it wasn't Yami, who the hell would it be?"

"Ryou, duh," Malik said. And said boy blushed.

"Ryou, huh?" Bakura mused. It was hard to see Ryou ruling a country. But Kaiba would help him. And who knew, maybe a kinder hand at the throne would be good for that country. "I get along with Ryou."

"It would be incredibly risky," Kaiba said slowly, already thinking of the different ways that deaths could be caused without any tell-tale evidence being left behind, should the monarch refuse relinquishing his throne.

"Not to mention under-handed," Odion said.

"But it could work," Ryou offered with a supportive smile.

Bakura grinned, flashing his sharp teeth like a wolf or a fox that thinks himself oh-so-clever. "It's an incredibly, abysmally stupid risk."

Malik shrugged. "Let's go for it!"

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The End.

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The Inspector

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Based on the book by Megan Whalen Turner

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Author's Note: Answering Questions and Such

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Before anyone asks, yes, in the real book, the character that is the thief IS the Queen's Thief of Eddis. After I found that out, I went back and read the book and sure enough, all the hints were there. In the book, Odion and Malik's characters died, and STAYED dead. But I liked them too much to keep them that way, this time. And if I had Malik's character follow the book and betray them, then he would have had to stay dead.

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I ended this story slightly different than the other ending, and VERY different from the book. I have nothing against Yami, but for some reason, evry one plotting his death in the end amused me. So that's how it went.

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Amarin Rose, I would fix the Otogi/Honda mistake, but the formats are messed up, so I can't until it's changed again.

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DarkShadowFlame, see!? I didn't leave Rishid/Odion dead! I couldn't. He's just too cool to leave dead in this one.

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Mokuba's Official Glomper, I'm going to look for that book next time I go to the book store!

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No promises for a sequel, but I'll think about it.

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And now, I shall say goodbye.

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Thank you everyone! And please review.

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p

The Inspector

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